ELYN SAKS

Trojan Family Values

Top photo, from left: Kazuki Inoue, Class of 2010 social chair, Keisuke Masuda, Student Bar Association representative for the Class of 2012 and Kei Sato, currently a member of the Japanese Legislature’s House of Councillors and Parliamentary Vice Minister of METI, former Class of 2011 social chair. Inset, Hiro Takahashi. community-centric mindset in which planning and hosting are shared. “It’s nice to keep in touch and allow friendships to expand, but at the same time, it had to be sustainable. It shouldn’t be something that one person shoulders,” says Hirooka. An agreed-upon rotation system designated two graduating generations to be in charge of planning the events each year and passing on the responsibilities to the succeeding class the next year. This system also helps alumni from different graduation years communicate and get to know each other.

This year, the 2009 and 2015 LLM classes are at the helm. Since the pandemic interrupted their original plans, the more collegial in-person events will likely be replaced with online Q&As, says Takahashi, in charge of organizing this year’s iteration.

Despite the uncertainty, the group maintains its enthusiasm, thanks to what they themselves experienced at USC, Hirooka says. “I just had a very good experience at USC, especially with the people who were able to communicate, were so friendly and supportive. When I traveled to take some courses, the G&IP office tried to adjust class schedules or really took the extra step for me to achieve my goals.” “WORK HARD, ENJOY HARD”

Some of the lessons don’t involve books and the classroom. Yoneyama says that he learned other ways of thinking by playing the Monopoly board game with fellow LLM students during breaks — a lesson he applies today in international transactions. “I learned that if you want to win this board game, you should focus on your benefit, but also the other party’s advantage.”

For Hirooka, his Gould education widened his worldview, while strengthening his writing, logical thinking and negotiation skills. “I grew up in Japan and I didn’t live in other countries before I went to USC.”

Kono says that Gould and USC open the door to worldwide friendships. “People don’t know the University of Tokyo, how big that is, but they know USC, even just because of football. It makes it easier to communicate, to establish common ground.”

If there’s anything these alums want new LLM students to know, it’s “Work hard and enjoy hard. Everybody studies hard because they are students, but also enjoy the sports, the culture, the weather,” says Kono. Inoue adds that he often pushed himself to try difficult courses even though his grades weren’t always stellar in the end. He invites new students to find similar courage. “Each person has only one life, and it’s your only chance to do your best and challenge yourself.”