Hi everyone! I just got back to USC from an amazing spring break – I took my old roommate home to San Diego for the weekend, took a trip to Napa with my mom to celebrate my 21st birthday, went to March Madness games with my family, and spent the last weekend relaxing on the beach in San Diego with high school friends. I can’t believe it’s been four years since I chose to come to USC, but it’s still the best decision I’ve made!
Here’s a picture of me and my family at the NCAA March Madness games in San Diego last weekend. I love college basketball and always get caught up in the madness!
I can still remember senior year of high school like it was yesterday. I had a long list of things I was looking for in a college, most importantly my major – I knew I wanted to study Civil Engineering or some type of architectural engineering in college. I also wanted to go to school in or near a big city, be involved in a number of student organizations, join a sports team/intramurals, and study abroad in college. And I wanted a school with lots of school spirit. With this list in mind I applied and was accepted to MIT, Columbia, Yale, Duke, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, and UCSD. I had a very difficult decision to make in April!
I tried to attend as many admitted student days as I could to get a better understanding of what daily life as an engineering student was like at each school. It took me all of April to realize USC offered the most opportunities for engineering students and the most balanced student life. USC had everything I wanted – a combined civil engineering/architectural design program (Civil Engineering – Building Science), numerous engineering student organizations, a club lacrosse team, research and study abroad opportunities, and incredible school spirit and pride. Not to mention the weather is always perfect in Southern California and LA is a great city to explore. Everyone I met during my senior year was genuinely happy to be a USC student and a part of the Trojan Family, and I’ve found this to be true in my USC experience as well.
I’ve been able to do everything I wanted in college and will graduate in just a few weeks as a new civil engineer! In my four years I’ve done undergraduate research in sustainability, joined the club lacrosse team and served as team president, joined a sorority, served on the executive board for the Society of Women Engineers, and studied abroad in Madrid for a summer. I’ve attended almost every home football game since freshman year and completed my dream of rushing the field after a big win (Stanford). I’ve gotten real world engineering experience as an intern at The Boeing Company working on satellites, and will intern this summer for Turner Construction in San Diego. I love USC so much I’m staying next year to finish my Master’s degree in Green Technologies through the Progressive Degree Program!
Good luck with your own college decision! If you have any questions feel free to email me at viterbi.student@usc.edu. Fight on!
