Hey all,
I hope you’re doing well. This week I’m going to talk a bit about one of organizations I’m really involved with on campus – the Trojan Scholars Society. The Trojan Scholars Society (TSS) is the association of Presidential, Trustee, Stamps, and Mork Scholars at the University of Southern California.
The Trojan Scholars Society as it exists today was founded in 2012. Prior to 2012, TSS was known as the Associated Trustee and Presidential Scholars (ATPS), which was formed when the previous Trustee Scholars and Presidential Scholars merged their societies in 2003. Former USC President Steven B. Sample began offering trustee and presidential scholarships in the early 1990s. Sample’s vision was to attract top high school students to USC to begin a campaign to continuously improve the academic prestige of the university. From a handful of students in 1990 to well over 1,500 scholars in 2010, President Sample increased USC’s academic scholarships presence dramatically.
President C. L. Max Nikias succeeded President Sample in August of 2010. President Nikias has continued on the tradition of scholarship and launched a seven-year campaign to raise $6 billion for the university by 2018, with $1 billion earmarked to endow student scholarships. In 2012, President Nikias announced two new scholarships, the Mork Family Scholarship and the Stamps Leadership Scholarship, inciting the change from the Associated Trustee and Presidential Scholars to the Trojan Scholars Society.
Today, the society is a vibrant community of over 2,000 scholars who come together for professional development, volunteering, and social outings. Members of the group frequently hold leadership positions in social, academic, and community-based organizations on and off campus.
I am currently serving my second year on the Executive Board of TSS. As the Director of Special Events, I plan and coordinate the main special events for the academic year. These events include the annual Orientation for Freshman Scholars, a Trojan Family Weekend tailgate, and the annual Spring Retreat among others. I also coordinate a special cultural event each year. Last year, we brought around 80 scholars to see the Broadway production of The Book of Mormon at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, and this year we took close to the same number to see the world-famous musical, Wicked!
Seeing Wicked at the Pantages Theatre tonight with @TrojanScholars and @hannahgluk and @PabloAPozas! #ViterbiLife pic.twitter.com/GtGgVTglbj
— Juliana Porter (@juliana_porter) January 22, 2015
The Trojan Scholars Society offers amazing opportunities for professional development, philanthropy, and seriously cool special events (planned by me!) so if you are a prospective student, I definitely encourage you to apply to USC before the Scholarship Deadline in order to have the chance to be a part of this wonderful society. If you’re an admitted scholar, and you’re wondering what additional opportunities that entails, feel free to leave me a comment. Additionally, you can also learn more about the Trojan Scholars Society here.
Until next time,
Juliana
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