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Love, Hope Valor AND
Trojans turn into everyday heroes in the fight against an insidious virus.
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The early days of the pandemic quickly brought an influx of COVID-19 patients to USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. In the weeks before strict social distancing measures, police officers and firefighters drove by the hospital in Glendale to salute health care workers—and these staff members thanked first responders for their support, from a distance.
PHOTO BY RICARDO CARRASCO III
EDITOR’S NOTE
The magazine of the
University of Southern California ————————————— E DI TO R-I N- CHI E F
Alicia Di Rado
CRE AT I VE DI RE CTO R
Jane Frey
M ANAGI NG E DI TO R
Elisa Huang
ASSO CI AT E E DI TO R
Eric Lindberg
PRO DUCT I O N M ANAGE R
Mary Modina
I NT E RACT I VE CO NT E NT M ANAGE R
K Selnick
VI SUALS E DI TO R
Susanica Tam
STAF F PHOTO GRAPHE R
Gus Ruelas
I NT E RACT I VE M ARKE T I NG M ANAGE R
Rod Yabut —————————————
As mail carriers were slotting copies of the spring issue of USC Trojan Family Magazine into mailboxes in March, I was working my first day from home, trying to adjust to our new normal. All USC staff members considered nonessential had started working remotely to comply with California’s stay-at-home order and reduce the spread of the new coronavirus. Months later, I’m still typing away in my home office and watching the nation’s educational landscape change before us. Under these circumstances, we aren’t printing or mailing this summer issue of the magazine. For those who are reading this on our website, thank you. If you like the digital experience, please consider subscribing to our monthly email at trojanfamily.usc.edu/subscribe. None of us could have predicted how the world would change since we started working on this issue in late 2019. Phrases like “flattening the curve” have entered our vocabulary. I used to meet USC scientists to talk about their research; over the past few months, I’ve bonded with a few on Twitter over our homemade sourdough bread. Thankfully, I’ve also learned more about the many everyday heroes in our midst at USC—people who provide hope as they make a difference in the lives of others. These nurses, students, scientists, dining hall workers, teachers, janitors and countless others inspired this issue of the magazine. May their stories continue to put the fight in Fight On! Alicia Di Rado Editor-in-Chief USC Trojan Family Magazine
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summer 2020
ILLUSTRATION BY ANNA AND ELENA BALBUSSO
Apart but Together
DE SI GN AND PRO DUCT I O N
INSIDE
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Seen and Heard Stories of Trojan life from mail, email, social media and the news.
USC volunteers have reached out their communities during the pandemic.
Five Things You Need to Know Deal with life’s ups and downs through mindfulness.
T R O J A N
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News The Trojan Family cheers on new grads online; USC makes moves in sustainability; and a student-athlete heads to the NFL after saving his sister’s life.
13 Channel Hopper
By Eric Lindberg An open-water swimmer makes a record-breaking splash.
15 Votes of Confidence
By Rachel B. Levin Can policy reforms bring young voters and people of color to the polls?
F E AT U R E S
FA M I LY
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FOOTBALL PHOTO BY JOHN MCGILLEN
39 Alumni News
A nurse faces COVID-19 in her small hospital; Trojans in the military help communities in need; and an architect honors the Korean American experience.
Keck Medicine of USC experts use detective work to identify the true causes behind patients’ aching backs—and the right treatments. By Candace Pearson
Trojans Together
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50 Back in Time
In 1970, legendary baseball coach Rod Dedeaux launched the Trojans on a historic championship winning streak.
trojanfamily.usc.edu
Back in the Game
Whether they’re treating patients in the ICU, making 3D-printed face shields or searching for a vaccine, everyday Trojan heroes unite to confront the threat of COVID-19.
Cover illustration by Scott Bakal usc trojan family
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Musings about Trojan life and USC Trojan Family Magazine from mail, email and the online world.
Full Court Press
Lucky Duck In his real estate development strategy and finance class, USC Marshall School of Business Adjunct Professor David K. Hyun liked to issue a challenge to his students: If anyone increased their net worth by $1 million within five years of graduation, he’d treat them to a full-course dinner of Peking duck. Thirty years later, Frank Gangi MBA ’84 finally collected his winnings. One of Hyun’s former students, Gangi developed a nineunit affordable housing unit for low-income seniors just three years after graduating. The president of Gangi Development forgot about the bet until recently, when a chance meeting with Hyun jogged his memory. True to his word, Hyun reserved a private banquet room at Panda Inn in Pasadena, California, to fulfill his decades-old promise. The Pasadena Star-News featured their reunion and story.
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Photographers crowded in for snapshots as USC basketball legends warmly greeted each other on the red carpet. But this wasn’t game day. On Feb. 26, HBO held the premiere of its documentary Women of Troy, which chronicles the historic 1983 and 1984 USC women’s basketball championship teams. Trojan greats like Olympian Cheryl Miller ’86 and Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (pictured below) reunited with former coaches, teammates, staff and their extended Trojan Family to get a first look at the film. The critically acclaimed documentary—called a “must see” by the Los Angeles Times and a “loving tribute” by Sports Illustrated—spotlights the groundbreaking Trojan teams that brought national attention to female athletes and blazed a trail for the WNBA.
A GOOD MATCH Only 49 people in California chose to be living liver donors last year. One USC staffer was among them. But Tony Herrera, associate administrator of payment innovations and transformation for Keck Medicine of USC, is no stranger to saving lives. He recently became a two-time living donor after partnering with the USC Transplant Institute to donate a portion of his healthy liver to a patient in need. Several years ago, Herrera saved his sister’s life by donating a kidney to a stranger as a part of a paired exchange to get her the kidney she needed. Years later, Tony’s deep desire to give the gift of life—yet again—led him to Yuri Genyk, a Keck Hospital of USC surgeon who specializes in living donor liver transplants. Says Genyk: “Tony’s choice to be a living donor will save someone’s life and is a tremendous gift. It takes a special person to be so selfless—not once but twice.” Herrera was featured on radio station KNX 1070 AM’s “Hero of the Week” segment. To learn more about the USC Transplant Institute, go to transplant. keckmedicine.org. summer 2020
HYUN AND GANGI PHOTO BY NICK AGRO; COOPER-DYKE PHOTO COURTESY OF USC ATHLETICS
SEEN AND HEARD
Learn more on p. 43 and at mindful.usc.edu online.
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
Be Mindful Alfred E. Neuman’s 20th-century catchphrase of “What, me worry?” was ahead of its time. Mental health experts suggest that people who can live in the present—instead of fretting over life’s ups and downs—may better manage stress. Mindfulness has grown so popular that it has spawned scientific research and programs like Mindful USC, the university’s initiative to build a culture of compassion. Here are a few quick facts about the practice.
you’ll set yourself up for disappointment. Practice mindfulness meditation in short spurts to build it as a skill. You can then use it as needed to keep stress from building throughout your day.
PRAY — OR DON’T
TALK TO A THERAPIST People struggling with depression may benefit from practicing mindfulness. Research suggests that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces depressive symptoms. It also may help those with depression focus less on negative information and more on the positive.
Mindfulness began in Buddhism, but the practice is secular. Anyone can use mindfulness techniques outside of religion or as a complement to faith traditions.
EAT WITH INTENT
The practice may enable emotional eaters to understand their relationship with food. As you eat, experience the flavors and textures in every bite. Slow down the process and you might become more attuned to when your body has had enough.
trojanfamily.usc.edu
START SMALL Expect to be mindful all the time and
THE MIND WANDERS
If countless thoughts bounce through your mind when you try to sit still and meditate, you’re not a failure. Use resources on the Mindful USC app—available through Google Play and Apple’s App Store—to learn how to acknowledge these thoughts and move on. usc trojan family
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TROJAN
YOU’RE A STAR
PHOTO COURTESY OF C. OLIVER TACTO
The pandemic postponed commencement, but Trojans like Oliver Tacto MPH ’16, MSW ’16, DSW ’20 still celebrated. To see how the Trojan Family cheered grads, go to p. 10. (As for the Hollywood sign, the credit goes to his friend's photo editing skills).
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System Upgrade The future of computer science has a new home at USC: the Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Human-Centered Computation Building. Named in honor of its lead donors, the 98,000-square-foot structure will house the USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science. It will provide much-needed room for the department to continue its rapid growth with modern labs, discussion areas and new spaces for collaboration. Research and teaching in the building will focus on advancing computer science’s role in improving and benefiting society through artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and more. “We envision that this building will bring together researchers from many different areas to develop innovative approaches to complex problems focusing on the most vital societal needs,” says Allen Ginsburg, a retired ophthalmologist. A previous gift from the couple in 2018 named the USC Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg
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Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics, where scientists collaborate on new approaches to diseases that cause blindness and other neurosensory disorders. Researchers from the institute will also have space in the new building and the adjacent USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. “Computer science, information technology and engineering at large empower pretty much every other discipline in the world today,” says USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos. “This building will be the center of advances in human-centered computing that will enable us to create a better world for all humanity.”
A NEW ERA
Established in 1968, USC’s computer science department has made invaluable contributions to fundamental areas of computing, including internet technology, robotics and software development. Since 2011, the department’s student population has tripled, and it now boasts more than 90 faculty members.
Charlotte and Allen Ginsburg
That growth has also translated to increased demand for expanded research opportunities with scientists from ot her disciplines. The new building’s innovative design will emphasize open areas to encourage discussions and interactions among researchers, students and scientists from across USC and other institutions. It will also boost USC Viterbi’s ability to recruit and retain top instructors and students. In addition to helping launch the new facility, the Ginsburgs’ gift will establish the Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg Early Career Chair in Computer Science. This endowed chair will be held by a junior faculty member with the promise of an outstanding career trajectory. “One of the most exciting aspects of computer science is its power to accelerate breakthroughs in nearly every field,” Allen Ginsburg says. “Charlotte and I believe our support of computer science at USC will lead to bold new ideas and advances that will benefit humankind and our planet.” ERIC LINDBERG
ILLUSTRATION BY HED ARCHITECTS; GINSBURGS PHOTO BY STEVE COHN
A new building helps boot up the next chapter of computer and data science discovery.
trojan news
STUDENT SUPPORT Major financial aid expansion makes a USC education more accessible to low- and middle-income families. With one of the nation’s most generous financial aid pools, USC opens the door of opportunity to students from many economic backgrounds. Now, the door just opened a little wider. Two new policies at USC will make higher education more affordable for those most in need of financial assistance. For one, USC will no longer count owning a home in the calculation used to determine a student’s financial need. A second change will allow U.S.-based students with an annual family income of $80,000 or less and typical assets to attend USC tuition-free.
NOGUERA PHOTO COURTESY OF PEDRO NOGUERA; GEHLERT PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAH GEHLERT
A WIDE REACH
These initiatives will result in more need-based support for talented undergraduates, particularly those from families struggling to pay the rising costs of a college education. Student aid will increase in phases by more than $30 million annually, allowing the university to provide financial assistance to more than 4,000 undergraduates every year once fully implemented. About a third of the 2020 incoming class will benefit. These changes build on USC’s ongoing efforts to increase affordability for lowand middle-income students. BUILDING IN GREATER ACCESS
The university has expanded need-based grant funding by more than 60% since 2010, far exceeding the rate of tuition increases. Two-thirds of USC undergraduates receive some form of financial aid and more than a fifth of undergraduates come from low-income families. “This significant step we are taking today is by no means the end of our affordability journey. We are committed to increasing USC’s population of innovators, leaders and creators, regardless of their financial circumstances,” President Carol L. Folt says. “Investing in the talent and diversity of our student body is essential to our educational mission.” RON MACKOVICH trojanfamily.usc.edu
Points of Impact
Two USC deans prepare the next generation of teachers and social workers to serve communities in need. Among the new faces on the USC campuus this fall are two respected academic leaders who share a passion for social justice. Their schools are preparing future educators and social workers to make a difference in the world. ACADEMIC ACHIEVER At the USC Rossier School of Education, scholar, sociologist and former public school teacher Pedro Noguera now serves as Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops Dean. He has more than 30 years of experience in education, including as a policy advisor and leading researcher with expertise in urban education and social inequality. As dean, Noguera will continue to strengthen USC Rossier’s ties to Los Angeles schools and develop programs that prepare teachers and administrators to change student lives. He is an alumnus of Brown University, where he earned undergraduate degrees in sociology and American history along with a teaching credential and a master’s degree in sociology. He completed a doctorate in
sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, and has been a faculty member at Harvard University, New York University and UCLA.
SOCIAL CONNECTIONS The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work welcomes researcher and administrative leader Sarah Gehlert as dean. She oversees the school’s six degree programs in social work and nursing and its numerous research centers and institutes. Currently president of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, Gehlert most recently served as dean of the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. She is an expert on the impact of social and environmental factors on health, with a focus on vulnerable populations. She earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in anthropology and a master’s degree in social work at the University of MissouriColumbia. She completed her doctorate in social work at Washington University in St. Louis. ERIC LINDBERG usc trojan family
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The Show Goes House Party Maria Del Pilar Morales ’20 took in USC’s first virtual graduation from the comfort of her home in Orange, California. The global health major wore a cardinaland-gold sash as she celebrated with family.
“I know it’s time to move on, but I’m coming to terms with the ending of something, which is always hard.” —USC Dornsife’s Catherine Theis MA ’18, PhD ’20, summing up how generations of Trojans have felt at graduation
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trojan news
On(line) Social Media Stars
Grads and family members shared their pride on Instagram and beyond using special GIFs and story filters. Look back at their moments using #2020Trojan, #USCGrad and #USCMemories on social media.
Thousands gathered around their computers, smartphones and TV screens in May for festivities honoring the Class of 2020. To support public health efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19, grads and their families celebrated virtually. The event conferred more than 19,000 degrees to graduates. Celebrity appearances, a performance by the Spirit of Troy and other surprises gave the online celebration its own pomp and circumstance.
Screen Time
Lisa Ling
President Carol L. Folt listened to speeches, applauded students and celebrated graduates on video.
Marilou and Mark Hamill
Kyle Mooney
Conquest Comes Home Although members of the Trojan Marching Band hit their notes from miles apart, they managed—as always—to play as one.
Video Stream Famous friends gave shoutouts to USC graduates during the conferring of degrees. Among the online guests: Sam “Bam” Cunningham ’73, Mark Hamill, Lisa Ling, Kyle Mooney ’07, Mandy Moore, USC Trustee Fred Ryan ’77, JD ’80 and John Williams. Prior commencement speaker Will Ferrell ’90 even made an appearance during the president's speech to wish students well.
MORALES PHOTO BY BRIAN VAN DER BRUG; FOLT PHOTO BY RENE PAK
Sam “Bam” Cunningham
Mandy Moore
Fred Ryan usc trojan family
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Cardinal, Gold … and Green
Natural Selection A Victorian scholar and Guggenheim Fellow finds modern connections in 19th-century art. Snippets of nature appear in Victorian art. A dandelion in meadow grass, seaweed strewn on a beach. When Kate Flint spots them, she notices more than artistic technique.The Provost Professor of Art History and English sees hints of a changing environment in these seemingly trivial 19thcentury details. Flint’s work has earned attention. She was named a 2020 Guggenheim Fellow for her creative explorations into Victorian art and literature. That places her among 176 esteemed scholars, artists and scientists honored by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation with the prestigious award based on “prior achievement and exceptional promise.” She’ll use her fellowship to complete the book The Long Today: Victorian Culture and Environmental Change. “This will be the first book to connect the Victorians’ passionate interest in the commonplace natural world with contemporary visual treatments of environmental crises,” she says. In addition to the Guggenheim Fellowship, Flint has been honored as a National Humanities Fellow and an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow. DARRIN S. JOY
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During rivalry games at the Galen Center, pumped-up crowds seem to rattle the rafters. In February, though, something else shook the ceiling. A crane lifted 1,500 solar panel modules to the Galen Center’s roof to create USC’s biggest sustainability project yet. The coronavirus couldn’t stall the project’s progress: The center’s 50,000-square-foot roof allowed ample space for installers to keep a safe distance apart. The solar array is on track to be fully operational this summer. It will provide up to 15% of the Galen Center’s electricity. Other sustainability steps include replacing the old arena lights with 3,000 efficient LED fixtures. And back in March, the men’s basketball team faced off against Arizona State in the center’s first “green game,” which diverted 90% of gameday waste—like hot dog wrappers and soda cups—from landfills. RON MACKOVICH
, solar panels were added to the center’s roof
%
of waste was diverted into compost or recycling during the first “green game” in March
, new LED bulbs replaced old arena lights, dropping wattage by 40%
15% of the building’s power comes from the sun
Home Game In the popular online game Minecraft, users build expansive worlds and interactive communities. So when COVID-19 forced the University Park Campus to close, USC students flocked to the game to recreate it brick by brick. The student team, affiliated with USC’s game design program, fashioned a sword-wielding Tommy Trojan and many landmarks along Trousdale Parkway.
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PHOTO OF LOOKING FOR THE MAIL PACKET BY HENRY GARLAND COURTESY OF YORK MUSEUMS TRUST; MINECRAFT IMAGE BY ALASTAIR MORRISON
The Galen Center rolls out a winning game plan for sustainability.
STUDENT PROFILE BECCA MANN
To read Mann’s account of her historic channel swim, go to bit.ly/MauiNui oline.
Channel Hopper
PHOTO COURTESY OF BECCA MANN
A USC open water swimmer describes 20 hours, 53 minutes and 37 seconds of pure, glorious, record-setting pain.
When Becca Mann staggered onto the Maui beach after nearly 21 hours of swimming, her arms felt like fire, her eyes had nearly swollen shut and her tongue resembled raw hamburger. She couldn’t wait to do it again. The USC screenwriting student had traversed more than 35 miles of open ocean, crossing the channels among Hawaii’s Maui, Molokai and Lanai islands, an agonizing feat that had never been done before. The 21-yearold fought through 5-foot swells, dozens of jellyfish stings and a relentless current that coaxed hot tears to flood her goggles. “When I finished, I looked like a pufferfish,” she says. “But it was such an incredible experience.” Less than two weeks later, Mann was back in the ocean battling waves for another competition. Few things make her heart pump like the freedom and adventure of open water swimming. “I love that you can’t control anything—the weather, the temperature, the currents,” she says. “It’s all about your ability to keep going, to not give up, to push through the pain.”
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Born into a family of triathletes and raised near Chicago, Mann started carving up the waters of Lake Michigan at age 6. At 10, she swam from Lanai to Maui. She set national records before high school. “I was a very intense kid,” she shrugs. Olympic dreams flared by her early teens. Intense training with top coaches like Randy Reese and Bob Bowman got her close several times, but injuries and setbacks forced Mann to reassess. Maybe she needed to explore other passions. She had fostered a talent for writing, publishing her own young adult novel, The Stolen Dragon of Quanx, by 16 and earning a coveted spot in the USC School of Cinematic Arts screenwriting program. But Mann couldn’t stay away from the water. She split her time between penning scripts and competing on the Trojan swim team. In 2019, a familiar yearning returned. While training in Colorado, she impulsively emailed the founder of the World Open Water Swimming Association, seeking a feat nobody had conquered. A response came moments
later: the Maui Nui triangle swim. The longest distance Mann had covered before, 25 kilometers, paled in comparison to the 58-kilometer crossing. No bother. She lined up a support team. Within months, she was slathering on zinc oxide and lanolin before ducking through the waves into Pailolo Channel. An emotional swirl of triumph and torment followed. Amazement at the phosphorescent sparkles at her fingertips with every nighttime stroke. Blinding frustration at the grinding current that slowed her progress to a crawl between Molokai and Lanai. Unreasonable anger at her seasick mother when food drops from the supply boat came a minute or two late. But when she pulled her shaky body onto the sand, Mann had no regrets—only a desire to find the next obstacle to overcome. Whether returning to the water or pursuing her dream of running her own television show in Hawaii, she’s always looking ahead. “I love challenges,” she says. “Every few years, I get an itch for an adventure.”
ERIC LINDBERG
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trojan news HE A LT H FI L E S You’ve probably heard that sitting too much is bad for your health. Instead, try to kneel or squat when you rest. According to USC research, these positions lightly challenge muscles, fighting some of the effects of sedentary life.
The Protector A Trojan football player who saved his sister’s life moves on to the pros. USC offensive tackle Austin Jackson always dreamed of playing professional football. As a standout on the Trojan line, it seemed inevitable that he’d suit up in an NFL stadium someday. He moved a big step closer in April, when the Miami Dolphins picked Jackson in the first round of the NFL Draft. But only a year earlier, he put his football career on hold when a rare blood disorder threatened the health of his little
QUOTED
“I know everyone at USC cannot wait to welcome you back to campus, so hang in there. ... Whenever the first day of school happens again, who knows, I might pop into a few classes with my fake mustache just to welcome you back.” —Will Ferrell ’90, encouraging students in a video message after USC campuses were closed and classes moved online in March
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sister, Autumn. Doctors determined that his bone marrow could potentially save Autumn’s life through a transplant. “I embrace my role as a protector,” he says. “It’s all I do on the football field. And I do it as an older brother.” The three-hour procedure was successful and required months of recovery, but he had the full blessing of USC football coach Clay Helton. Both Jacksons recovered well. “This is such a huge thing that he has done for me without even second-guessing it,” Autumn says. “I don’t even know what I could ever do in return except to love him and support him.” And soon, she’ll watch him on Sundays.
Pregnant mothers who eat fish tend to have healthier children—as long as they consume it in moderation. USC scientists suggest that women eat fish one to three times a week during pregnancy to deliver vital nutrients to children while limiting their exposure to toxins like mercury. Drinking booze every day speeds up signs of aging in the brain. USC researchers examined more than 17,000 brain scans and found that, for every gram of alcohol consumed daily, the brain ages by a week. How many grams of alcohol are in a beer or glass of wine? About 14.
JACKSON PHOTO BY JOHN MCGILLEN
Austin Jackson heads to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins after several seasons with the Trojans.
Taking medicine that lowers cholesterol might also reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients in a USC study who took statins frequently were less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than those who used statins less often—a 15% decrease among women and 12% among men.
trojan news
Votes of Confidence
ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID PLUNKERT
Can policy reforms get young voters and people of color to the polls? The right to vote lies at the heart of the American political system. And yet, election after election, large swaths of eligible voters—especially young people and members of communities of color—sit on the sidelines, with potential consequences. “Having a limited electorate is a huge detriment to the function of our democracy,” says Mindy Romero, a research assistant professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy who studies civic engagement and voter behavior. “Policymakers need to be listening to ... a full slate of opinions.” In 2010, the political sociologist founded the nonpartisan California Civic Engagement Project in Sacramento to investigate why some communities—particularly 18- to 24-year-olds and people of color—stay away from the ballot box. One factor, she says, is a lack of outreach and mobilization efforts directed at these groups. According to Romero, campaigns led by candidates take the lead in engaging voters. But their efforts, like campaign stops, election flyers and doorto-door canvassing, often heavily target some specific communities while ignoring others. That’s because candidates tend to concentrate their resources on those most likely to vote for them. “Young people are not in that likely voter model,” Romero says. It also doesn’t typically include minorities like Latinos and Asian Americans—groups historically underrepresented at the polls. Romero says that decades of marginalization have left a lasting mark on youth and minorities, who often struggle to see how voting makes a difference for the issues they care about. These groups also tend to be what Romero calls “information low” when it comes to voting: inadequately informed about the nuts and bolts of registering, finding information on issues and knowing when to cast votes. trojanfamily.usc.edu
New reforms could make voting more accessible. Starting this year, California’s polling sites offer same-day voter registration, and the 2016 Voter’s Choice Act lets residents in 15 counties cast ballots 10 days before election day. A study co-authored by Romero found that 2018 midterm election turnout increased by 3 percentage points in the counties that expanded voting options under the act. There was a larger increase among young people and a more modest increase among Latinos, she says. But will the coronavirus pandemic derail democratic reform? Some have suggested switching entirely to voting by mail for the general election to encourage social
distancing. But Romero worries that many potential voters would be pushed even farther away from the ballot box. “Our research shows that there are a lot of barriers to voting by mail. Some voters find it confusing or intimidating,” she says. “And in California, Latinos and young voters still vote in person at higher rates than other groups.” Romero believes that fears about COVID-19 will motivate many to vote from their homes, but offering safe, in-person sites is essential to the democratic process. “We don’t know if most states can even pull off an all-mail election,” she says. “Having an election that is 100% by mail will likely leave many voters behind.” RACHEL B. LEVIN
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WARM WELCOME USC is getting ready for classes this fall, and thousands applied for the chance to become a Trojan. Of the more than 9,500 applicants offered admission as first-year students this autumn, 17% would be in the first generation of their family to attend college. About 3 of every 10 are from underrepresented minority groups. And alongside U.S. students who hail from all 50 states, international students represent 96 countries. Although these high-achieving students come from diverse backgrounds, they all have one thing in common: a passion for knowledge driven by curiosity, creativity and service. RON MACKOVICH
A former USC student-athlete completes some unfinished business: earning his degree at age 86. For 60 years, one question quietly nagged Tom Capehart: Where did you go to college? The 86-year-old resident of Pasadena, California, played football, basketball and water polo and swam for USC in the 1950s. He proudly donates to the university and attends as many athletic events as he can. Capehart was always a Trojan. He just wasn’t a USC graduate—until a few months ago. Born on a farm near Fresno, California, Capehart arrived at USC in 1952 ready to compete for the Trojans. But injuries sidelined the multitalented athlete, ending his basketball and football dreams. He later tried his luck in the pool and made it onto the swim and water polo teams. During his senior year, the physical education major couldn’t complete one of his courses because it required high-impact physical activity. Doctors advised against it due to his injuries. As years passed, he tried to return to USC. But when he found out that USC no longer offered a degree in physical
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education, he stopped trying, he says. He went on to start a family and open a successful life insurance agency, Capehart Insurance Services Inc. Last year, Scott Wandzilak MBA ’17, a senior assistant athletic director at USC, approached Capehart to highlight him on USC Athletics’ website. When Wandzilak heard that Capehart hadn’t officially graduated, he encouraged him to contact the university. Angela Hasan, an assistant professor of clinical education, developed a course to fulfill his final two units, which he insisted on attending in person. Although COVID-19 cut short his attendance, he successfully completed the final project: a 200-page autobiography. It was the final step in a six-decade journey. Now a USC Class of 2020 graduate, Capehart feels like he has finally settled the question that bugged him all these years. It also reaffirmed one of his life principles: “When you set your sights on something, do it right or don’t do it at all.”
GR AYSON SCHMIDT
Who Was Accepted Into the 2020 Freshman Class? A Competitive Cohort
9,535
16% 38%
students were offered admission out of nearly 60,000 applications of applicants were accepted
Report Card
3.88
of admitted students earned straight A’s is their average unweighted GPA
A Diverse Family
3,500
14%
high schools are represented in the admitted class of students come from outside the U.S. summer 2020
BASKETBALL PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM CAPEHART
Never Too Late
BY THE NUMBERS
trojan health
BACK IN THE GAME Chances are you’ve had an aching back. Sometimes it takes expert detective work and an open
mind to figure out why and fix it for good. By Candace Pearson | Illustrations by Raymond Biesinger
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How Common is Low Back Pain?
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It’s the No. 1 cause of disability in the U.S.
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About 540 million people worldwide suffer from it.
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80% of adults experience low back pain in their lifetime.
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Every year, about half of all working Americans report back pain symptoms.
Reasons for Low Back Pain 3 6
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Serious causes of back pain like cancer or infection make up less than 1% of cases. Most low back pain lasts only a few days or weeks. It tends to resolve on its own. In as many as 20% of cases, though, patients still suffer from pain a year later. Sometimes doctors can figure out the source of this pain, like arthritis or a pinched nerve, but in most cases, the causes remain mysterious.
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Back Facts Medicare might soon cover acupuncture for chronic low back pain, to encourage nondrug treatment options in response to America’s opioid crisis. A sedentary lifestyle is bad for your back. But other factors can contribute, too, including stress, smoking, diet and posture.
When to Seek Treatment 1
If your pain spreads down one or both legs and you feel weakness, shooting pain, numbness or tingling, get a referral to a specialist. Keck Medicine of USC physicians offer visits over the computer or phone—both before and after surgery— to provide consultation and care remotely.
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Back Facts 2
Across most of the world, low back pain is the leading reason people miss workdays.
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Patients with back pain often benefit from seeing specialists called physiatrists. These doctors understand how muscles and bones work together, as well as how they’re affected by other parts of the body.
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When your back hurts, you may think your first step is getting an MRI. But experts say imaging tests are typically only needed for patients with severe spinal issues.
Back Care Tips 5
If you sit a lot, get up, walk and gently flex your spine regularly.
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Don’t smoke.
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Eat a healthy diet.
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Maintain a healthy weight.
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Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.
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trojan health Jennifer crawford loved racing across muck-filled obstacle courses. She scaled 15-foot walls, crawled through mud and carried her teammates on her shoulders in competitive events—all while covering up to 12 miles. But when her back started to fail her, pain became the one barrier she couldn’t conquer. “I suffered for so long—seven years before I gave up and started looking for real help,” Crawford says. Her pain started in 2012, just before she turned 40. She couldn’t get comfortable, whether sitting, standing or lying down. On her drive to work as a nursing director at a retirement community in Santa Clarita, California, she needed to readjust her seat every few minutes or stop driving. Soon, she ached all over. Then the toes on her left foot started going numb. “I didn’t know what it was like to not be in pain,” she says. “It was exhausting.” Crawford isn’t alone. Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, outpacing heart disease, diabetes, asthma and mental health problems. Americans spend some $50 billion a year trying to alleviate their suffering. For many, the pain is brief and recedes without medical intervention. For others, the misery becomes severe—and sometimes, so do the solutions. Chronic low back pain is one of the most common reasons physicians prescribe opioid drugs, which may alleviate some pain but can’t address its root causes. Some pain sufferers see surgery as an obvious answer. But orthopaedic surgeon Jeffrey Wang and neurosurgeon John Liu, co-directors of the USC Spine Center at Keck Medicine of USC, say an operation is typically the last resort. “A patient may be frustrated by their pain,” Liu says. “But our wanting to help a patient feel better is not an indication for surgery. We have to dive deeper and find the correct structural explanation for their pain.” Liu, a pioneer in minimally invasive surgery, considers each patient and asks himself: “If this were my mom, my dad or my wife in front of me, what would I offer them?” Making that decision is complicated, Wang says. “Surgery doesn’t always work, and it won’t cure every aspect of your life.” Yet some facilities pursue aggressive trojanfamily.usc.edu
treatment right away. As a result, only 70% of operations for low back pain succeed. Wang puts the problem simply: “Surgeons need to better select patients who will do well with surgery.”
Detective Work
Treatment starts with a diagnosis. But for many, the source of trouble—what Wang calls “the pain generator”—often remains elusive. Sometimes doctors find a physical cause, like arthritis, degenerative discs, fractures or tumors. Or they might trace it to emotional triggers, like stress or depression. “The first thing to understand about back pain is it’s a symptom, not a disease in itself,” says USC physical therapist Justin Lantz, who specializes in spinal problems. At USC, back care can start with rehabilitation physicians, known as physiatrists, or physical therapists with advanced specialty training. “We take a biopsychosocial approach,” says Lantz, assistant professor of clinical physical therapy at the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy and clinical family medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. That means they consider everything from a patient’s family life to whether they sit at a desk all day. These professionals analyze how a person walks, sits, sleeps and works, as well as their sense of balance and core abdominal strength, to pinpoint potential pain sources and solutions. Their prescriptions include conservative treatments like exercise, physical therapy, meditation, other stress-reduction techniques and counseling—because depression can trigger back pain or make it harder to resolve. Says Lantz: “We’re trying to change people’s lifestyles and how they function throughout the day as we teach them to be more mindful of their bodies.”
Desperate Measures
Crawford tried physical therapy for her back pain. Even as it worsened, she avoided pain pills. Then an MRI suggested the culprit: A few of the spongelike discs between her spine’s vertebrae bulged out of their slots. She opted for several steroid injections. That reduced the inflammation in her spinal nerves and brought her some relief—a “Band-Aid solution,” she
says, that kept her going for nearly a year. Still, her legs got weaker. Then, as the weakness spread to her bladder, she worried she might become incontinent or paralyzed. When her primary care doctor asked if she wanted to see a specialist, the 46-year-old was ready. Tests at the USC Spine Center confirmed that she had a condition called “radiculopathy”—a pinched nerve, the likely source of her leg pain and numbness. Because a disc in her lower back had degenerated, the surrounding vertebrae had sandwiched and then pressed on the nerve. In September 2019, Wang performed an operation to relieve that pressure and stabilize her vertebrae. In the minimally invasive procedure—an anterior lumbar interbody fusion—the surgeon approaches the patient’s spine through the abdomen to avoid harm to the back muscles and nerves. Wang removed the last disc in Crawford’s lower spine and inserted a carbon-fiber cage that held a bone graft. As her body healed, the implant would stabilize and realign her spine.
Comeback Story
Can we ever “cure” back pain? After all, our discs naturally lose cushioning and flexibility as we age. Making that dream come true, Wang says, “requires addressing the problem on a biological basis.” In his lab, he studies ways to intervene in the spine’s normal aging. He activates damaged discs by injecting stem cells with different genes and growth factors in search of the best combination to encourage spinal cells to keep themselves healthy. “The ultimate goal is to reverse the process of degeneration, stop arthritis and make the spine younger again,” he says. That day is still in the future. Crawford’s recovery is very much in the present, and it’s working. As soon as she woke from her operation, she knew something was different. The pain she carried for years had vanished. “I wish I had done the surgery earlier,” she says. At her three-month checkup, her spine looked so healthy that doctors cleared her to start light jogging. By early May, she got her kayak out, strapped it to her car and tackled the ocean waves off Ventura. “I’m forgetting what it’s like to be in pain,” she says. “It’s pretty much a miracle.” usc trojan family
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Trojans Together ILLUS TRAT IO N S BY S COT T BA K A L
When spring break wound down this year, the university’s echoing hallways and quiet plazas stayed hushed. Classes went online and games were called off. Labs locked their doors. Skateboards rested against empty beds. As Los Angeles grappled with social distancing measures, life changed overnight. But for many Trojans, the slowdown had another effect: It spurred them into action. In the following pages, we celebrate Trojans who rose to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these everyday heroes risked their health to comfort patients. Others sewed masks or churned out face shields with 3D printers from their garages. Scientists searched for virus-fighting drugs and potential vaccines. Alumni, faculty, staff and parents mobilized to keep students and neighbors fed, cared for and safe. They all define a Trojan spirit that’s emerged from adversity stronger and more united than ever.
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contracted the new coronavirus, the study showed, far more than the confirmed case count suggested. That meant that many of the infected never showed symptoms and the death rate was lower than originally thought. “I’ve never had my research reviewed or scrutinized by thousands of other researchers and receive the attention it has gotten. It wasn’t all friendly scrutiny,” he says. Critics of the stay-at-home orders seized upon results to argue their positions. Others questioned Sood’s methodology. “People have strong prior beliefs about the topic,” he says. “They’re looking at the same research through different lenses.” He acknowledges his study—like most—had limitations. But he is glad he tackled the research with urgency “because it is influencing the way a lot of people think about an important problem and spurring more research on a critical issue.” The peer-reviewed study was published in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. Sood isn’t looking for notoriety—or
Neeraj Sood’s study into COVID-19’s community spread drew national headlines. But the health economist is just getting started. BY LEIGH HOPPER
virus has spread through the population. The department tested nearly 900 county residents. When he presented preliminary results at a public briefing, it sparked a national conversation. He appeared on major news channels and media outlets. The findings were surprising: Nearly 5% of Los Angeles County residents had trojanfamily.usc.edu
even publication in a scientific journal. He focuses on bringing new evidence to inform a critical health challenge. That’s part of his role as co-founder of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics. He joined USC from RAND, a leading think tank based in Santa Monica, California, and is now vice dean for research and faculty affairs at the USC Price School of Public Policy. Sood is known for sharing ideas and debating research strategies good naturedly with fellow faculty. Other researchers praise his enthusiasm for working through scientific disagreements in the quest for answers. His field of study — economics — offers a wealth of questions that beg for these answers. Many people think economics is about money, but it’s more about human behavior and how we weigh choices. As a specialist in health economics, he aims to
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T O G E T H E R
Viral GOING
improve health care markets and find ways to give more people a chance at a healthy life, regardless of their background. The thrill for Sood comes when he makes a case for policy change and then sees it enacted. He saw that happen in a project he did with the World Bank. It examined whether insurance improved health—or just led to more spending on care. A large state in India introduced health insurance for poor families in the northern half of the state. The insurance covered major procedures, expenses that could be catastrophic if paid out of pocket. To understand the coverage’s potential effects, Sood sampled 100,000 households in the middle of the state, where about half had this kind of insurance coverage. Turns out insurance matters, especially for the poor. “The villages that had health insurance had much lower mortality from cardiac disease and from cancer—exactly the type of care covered by the insurance program,” he says. Insurance also narrowed the mortality gap between rich and poor. When the health secretary saw Sood’s results, he vowed to act. Within months, the insurance program expanded statewide. “To me, that’s the kind of research that’s satisfying. We come up with something different or innovative, and then it actually influences how people think and leads to a change,” he says. What’s next for Sood? The future offers opportunities to view the COVID-19 pandemic through a health economics lens. For instance, researchers don’t fully understand the role of schoolchildren play in transmitting disease. So when schools close due to the pandemic, are the health benefits worth the educational setbacks? But that work will come later. These months at home have kept him busy cooking for his wife and fellow USC researcher, Ashlesha Datar, and their two daughters, ages 10 and 13. Sood’s workday used to end at 6:30 p.m., and weekends were dedicated to family. But during the pandemic, he might take calls at 5 a.m. or 10 p.m. “I usually don’t work weekends. I am feeling a little guilty,” he says. “I’m sure my daughters see I’m more tense. But at the same time, they are also seeing it matters, and when you want to do something this is how you get it done.” Thankfully, he can report a small victory that's especially relatable to dads these days: “I recently got just a glimpse of my 13-yearold thinking that what I do is important.”
T R O J A N S
Neeraj sood heard reports in winter of a new coronavirus in Asia, but he gave the virus little thought. Then news trickled in about its alarming spread. Patients were hospitalized with severe illness. The World Health Organization declared a pandemic, and parts of the U.S locked down. That’s when the USC professor’s health economics mindset kicked in. How widespread were the infections, really? Was the disease much deadlier than the flu? Because many virus carriers show few or no symptoms, testing only sick patients “will not get us to the truth,” he wrote in The Wall Street Journal. If the infection and death rates from the virus compare to the flu, he reasoned, lockdowns can be lifted sooner. “But if they’re much higher, drastic measures are imperative.” Sood soon partnered with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to conduct one of the country’s first studies to test the blood of volunteers for antibodies to the new coronavirus. Through these seroprevalence studies, researchers estimate how widely the
Big
ZOOM
In
IDEAS
Students expected to see teachers and friends in their online classes. But what about the occasional celeb? Here are a few of our favorite classroom cameos from spring.
USC scientists and engineers have come up with creative tactics to fight the coronavirus. These are just a few of their projects.
TRIPLE POWERED Inventors at the USC School of Pharmacy figured out how to use one ventilator to support three patients at once. The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing their technology.
The Trojan football great and Fox Sports analyst dropped by a journalism class about sports commentary.
JIMMY IOVINE
SAFE AND SANITIZED
T R O J A N S T O G E T H E R
patients could use one ventilator through USC technology
The co-founder of Interscope Records and Beats Electronics hopped on a Zoom call with students from the USC Iovine and Young Academy.
Locally Lo cally ally THINK
A P R I L R O S S ’ The USC women’s beach volleyball team got a pep talk from the Olympian.
STEPH CURRY The NBA star surprised students as they pitched charitable ideas for his foundation.
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For recent graduates Claire Monro ’20 and Claire Fisher ’20, college life means much more than going to class. It’s also about the shared experiences and neighborhood hangouts that bind all USC students, from local dives to mom-and-pop shops. So when COVID-19 brought student life to a standstill, the two Kappa Theta Alpha sisters started to worry about popular nearby businesses like Caveman Kitchen and El Huero that depend on student traffic. Applying the entrepreneurial mindset they’d honed at the USC Marshall School of Business, they came up with a way to raise money: design and sell T-shirts. After they put the word out to friends on social media, response was immediate and orders brisk. A
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A robot sidekick created by USC Viterbi engineers could keep workers out of harm’s way. Equipped with a UV wand, the robot can be remotely operated to disinfect places like hospital rooms.
cold call to President Carol L. Folt’s office resulted in the USC Bookstore stocking the shirts. All proceeds were donated to support local South L.A. businesses. “In times like these,” Monro says, “you really see what the Trojan Family is made of.” JULIE TILSNER
LEINART PHOTO BY MICHAEL BECKER; ROSS PHOTO BY RALPH ARVESEN; T-SHIRT PHOTO COURTESY OF CLAIRE MONRO AND CLAIRE FISHER
DRUG DISCOVERY Chemists designed a better way to deliver a potent antiviral drug, enabling patients to take it by mouth instead of through an injection. In lab studies, the method provided a stronger drug dose with fewer side effects.
MAT T L E I N A RT ’
Go THE DISTANCE
How do you teach drama without a stage? Jam together as a jazz band online? You get creative. BY ERIC LINDBERG
Having to suddenly teach online has tested professors everywhere, including at USC. Now imagine what it’s like for instructors in hands-on labs and creative fields like music, arts, theater and film. USC’s faculty rose to the occasion. Edgar Landa ’95 teaches a popular class on stage combat at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. But how could his spring semester students choreograph a dynamic fight scene without someone to slap or swing at, thanks to social distancing? “I just told them: Beat yourself up,” Landa says. Instructions for their solo skirmish were simple: Set up a camera or have a family member handle the cinematography. Let the punches, kicks and gouges commence. Then edit together a short scene, no more than a minute long. The results were hilarious and highly creative short videos that suggest some otherworldly force took over their limbs. trojanfamily.usc.edu
“They got creative and made stories and had multiple camera angles, so I was really happy with the work I saw,” Landa says. “And they really enjoyed it. The feedback I got was that they had a really good time.” COURSE OF ACTION The USC Thornton School of Music’s Peter Erskine relied on tech. Kept apart from students due to social distancing, the Grammy award-winning jazz drummer sent them YouTube videos and a play-along app he created. Students sent back their recorded performances for him to critique. Erskine found power in simplicity, too. He showed students how to use their hands and feet to thump out rhythms. His teaching assistant, Lauren Ellis, demonstrated a similar low-tech method on YouTube: She tapped beats on her kitchen counter with a pair of drumsticks. As university leaders and educators nationwide look toward autumn, they continue to expect the unexpected. USC faculty members have pursued a simple goal through it all—keeping students engaged, curious and always learning. Erskine and his fellow professors have found ways to teach, no matter the circumstances, because they want the best for their students. “We’re rooting for them,” he says. “We want them to succeed.” Allison Engel and Karla Reid contributed to this article.
Students in a digital forensics class taught by Joseph Greenfield ’06, MS ’06 testified in a cybercrime mock trial on Zoom before seasoned prosecutors and a retired L.A. County Superior Court judge.
Landscape architecture professor Alexander Robinson took students on a virtual field trip to a marsh. He filmed a naturalist guide leading a tour—at a safe distance—and then invited her to class through a video call to answer questions.
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Adaptations GREAT
Veteran screenwriter David Isaacs of Frasier and Mad Men fame transitioned the student-led sketch show USC Comedy Live from a studio to Zoom segments and short films.
T R O J A N S
DRUMMING PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER ERSKINE; ISAACS PHOTO COURTESY OF USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS; GREENFIELD PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSEPH GREENFIELD; ROBINSON PHOTO BY ORIANA KOREN
When USC’s in-person classes stopped, educators made sure the learning went on.
T R O J A N S T O G E T H E R
When they graduated from school, they took a vow to protect and promote the health of our mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, friends and neighbors—and complete strangers. They are nurses. Patient care assistants. Respiratory therapists. Technicians. Radiologists who scrutinize your X-ray as if it were their own, and staff
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Have Ou THEY
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T R O J A N S SEVEN PHOTOS BY RICARDO CARRASCO III; OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF USC VERDUGO HILLS HOSPITAL, CHLOE ROLAND, JACQUELINE FUNES, CATHERINE PRADT, CRISTINA DEGRAAFF, PHUONG NGUYEN, MAY KIM, AMY HIRATA AND VERONICA MARQUEZ
T O G E T H E R
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who check hospital visitors for fever to reduce spread of disease. They may not have imagined how COVID-19 would affect our society, but they remain committed to fighting it. These snapshots from the pandemic record brief moments in the lives of these Trojan heroes—the heart of Keck Medicine of USC.
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ANESTHESIOLOGIST
Michael Kim
Brian Dodero
Brian Dodero might insert a breathing tube into a patient’s throat one moment, then perform lifesaving CPR on another a few minutes later. He serves as one of Keck Hospital of USC’s respiratory therapists, one of the most important—and riskiest— jobs of the coronavirus era. Dodero has helped a lot of patients, but the 43-year-old remembers one man in particular. He was a little younger than me but not by much. I don’t believe he had a previous medical condition, but he came in positive for COVID-19 and was very critically ill on a ventilator. This type of disease causes acute respiratory distress syndrome—it’s an excess buildup of fluid in the lungs that basically drowns the patient. We need to turn them to try to get that fluid to move so we can ventilate different areas of the lungs. We have four people in the room together just to turn the patient. You have to imagine: they have tubes and lines coming out from all over their body, they have trojanfamily.usc.edu
Miko Shudo
Normally assigned to older patients in psychiatric care at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, she saw her world change as COVID-19 patients arrived at the facility. Whenever she could, she played music to provide a little comfort. On the hospital floors, I’d set up a chair by a pod of patients’ rooms and play something very soft and consistent. It’s not really to perform but to create an ambience of relaxation. I play maybe 10 minutes in one spot and then move to the next pod of rooms. One time, as I began playing, I saw a door was shut and a COVID-positive patient was inside the room. I stayed close to that door and played one of my normal relaxation progressions. After I finished, I suddenly heard clapping. I asked if they would like to Three hear another one, kind of just health going through the conversation care as if I were actually able to see workers them. I don’t remember what it was, whether it was something reflect on they said or it was more clapping, healing but they signaled to me that they and hope wanted to hear more. And so I on the kept playing. In total, I probably played four songs for them. front lines. Before playing the last one, I talked to them, saying that we’re thinking of you, that we’re out here, even though we can’t see you and interact with you in a more normal way. It was the best I could do in that moment. After the last song, they clapped again and through the door I could hear, “Thank you.” Interviews have been edited for flow and clarity. usc trojan family
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RESPIRATORY THERAPIST
MUSICAL THERAPIST
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Honestly, I think most of us approach work the same before and after COVID: We just deliver it. It’s our job. We trained hard to take care of sick patients, and we do just that. I see it every day with physicians, nurses, environmental services workers, respiratory therapists, X-ray techs, nutritionists, occupational therapists, physical therapists. When I’m sitting around at night in our COVID unit, it’s really cool to watch all these people donning their PPE, delivering excellent care to these patients who are extremely sick. If there’s a chance to talk to patients, you reassure them that they have excellent caregivers around them. If the patient is intubated, all you can do is whisper in their ear—and let them know they are being well taken care of.
THE
Specializing in critical care at Keck Hospital of USC, Michael Kim looks after the sickest patients, whether they’ve had organ transplants or COVID-19. He talks about the professionals who care about doing right by their patients—not about being called heroes.
an endotracheal tube coming out of their mouth. If they’re lying on their stomach, where’s that tube going to go? You have to turn their head, position them carefully. This gentleman was on a ventilator for 17 days. But he recovered and left the hospital. To me, that was incredible. Seeing a younger patient like that in such a critical situation was scary, because all you hear on the news is that young people are fine. He wasn’t fine. He was on death’s door. But he pulled through and recovered. And it was because of great teamwork—the doctors, the nurses, the respiratory therapists who took care of him.
STREET
Team HEALING ARTS
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SAFE HANDS Washing your hands reduces spread of the coronavirus, but many who live on L.A.’s streets lack access to running water. So USC students in the communications course “Research, Practice, and Social Change” took action. Led by Professor François Bar, they partnered with the Los Angeles Community Action Network to build portable hand-washing stations for people in downtown L.A. They also launched a digital campaign to teach others how to make and distribute their own.
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Everywhere CARE
These professionals treat some of L.A.’s most vulnerable on the streets they call home, despite a pandemic. BY ERIC LINDBERG
Mike expected to see no sign of Brett Feldman and his medical team for months. Pedestrians and cars had vanished from the streets overnight as the coronavirus forced Californians into self-isolation. Mike figured he would have to manage his diabetes and heart disease on his own for a while— just like the many others living on curbs and under onramps in L.A. Then Feldman showed up in May to check on the 63-year-old. Mike’s eyes lit up. “He was shocked we were leaving our homes to come see him,” says Feldman, a physician assistant and director of street medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. “I think it really drove home how important he is to us and how much we love him. No matter the circumstances, we weren’t going to leave him abandoned.” Feldman oversees two mobile teams that head to tents and encampments every day to treat patients
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experiencing homelessness. Each comprises a physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner, as well as a nurse and community health worker. Mike—whose real name we’re withholding to protect his privacy—is among hundreds of homeless patients who receive care from the street medicine crew. Their support is more critical than ever. Fewer food donations means that many people on the street have had to subsist on two or three meals a week. And beyond the threat of COVID-19, they still struggle with other health challenges. Social distancing has thrown another complication their way, too. “Normally, we’re very affectionate with our patients,” Feldman says. “We hug them, we pat them on the shoulder. Now we’ve had to adapt to not doing those things. To me, that’s the most frustrating part. But part of how we view our role is to stand with them in solidarity, no matter what they are going through.” Signs of resilience and kindness persist. When the team visited one man with pancreas and back problems, he invited them into his makeshift shelter under a freeway. They chatted for a while. Then, as the health workers prepared to leave, the man offered them a pineapple, a gesture of thanks for their company and compassion. Says Feldman: “That kind of generosity is really a model for all of us.” summer 2020
FELDMAN PHOTO BY GREGG SEGAL; HANDWASHING STATION PHOTO BY PENELOPE AND PARKER VALENZONA
T R O J A N S
Stay-at-home restrictions forced many arts programs for homeless artists in L.A. to temporarily close, leaving them without a creative outlet. In response, USC Arts in Action and the USC Roski School of Art and Design joined with the Skid Row Arts Alliance to distribute more than 170 art kits. The packets included sketchbooks, pens and pencils, and a studentproduced magazine.
Stand TAKING A
As scientists around the world race to understand how the new coronavirus works, Keck School of Medicine of USC researchers are in the thick of the fight with the help of the W.M. Keck Foundation. A $4 million gift from the foundation to bolster COVID-19 research and related activities is supporting discoveries in five areas: virology and immunology; diagnosis and treatment; population health; community outreach; and research infrastructure. Treatment approaches range from stem cell therapy to plasma infusions and beyond. Experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning are developing algorithms to predict which patients get sick and examining social and environmental patterns stemming from
PERFORMANCE PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE USC THORNTON SCHOOL OF MUSIC ; SCHWARZENEGGER AND TREJO PHOTOS BY GAGE SKIDMORE
ALL TOGETHER NOW “While I can’t perform for you right now, I am excited about a new way that I can share music,” said L.A. Philharmonic Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel when he launched At Home with Gustavo. The intimate music show aired on KUSC, a broadcast service of USC and the largest classical music station in the country.
CUE THE MUSIC The USC Thornton School of Music launched Live! From Somewhere, a web series featuring students, faculty and alumni performing in spots from living rooms to garages. Clips included a Bill Withers tribute (shown at right) recorded by Popular Music Program teachers by iPhone.
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Art Is
DELIVER
Unexpected meals from famous people and places have fueled USC’s doctors, nurses, therapists and more as they tackle COVID-19.
A R N OL D SCHWARZENEGGER The former California governor and founder of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy pumped up health care workers by sending them pasta and chicken.
P O RTO ’S BAKERY & CAFE The bakery’s meat pies and potato balls are legendary—as are the long lines that form early to grab them. But workers at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital and Children’s Hospital L.A. got a special delivery from the landmark eatery in honor of National Doctors’ Day.
DANNY TREJO The actor and co-owner of Trejo’s Tacos, which has a location at USC Village, paired with Colony Cooks’ Dimitri Colupaev ’14 and others to serve meals at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital.
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ART SHOW After closing its doors, the USC Fisher Museum of Art used the hashtag #MyMuseumAtHome to encourage art lovers to share their personal collections and keep paintings, sculpture and photography in public view.
HOME IS WHERE THE
They
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The pandemic turned the arts world upside down as concert halls and museums closed. But USC arts institutions found creative ways to bridge the social distance divide.
COVID-19. Funding helped secure essential research material—including a repository of blood and tissue samples from COVID-19 patients that can be stored safely—to equip Keck School of Medicine scientists to advance their work. The foundation’s funding also has been earmarked to keep Los Angeles County communities informed with the latest science-backed information in an effort to counter the pandemic’s damage to local neighborhoods. This $4 million gift builds on a long history of support for USC’s medical enterprise. In 2011, the W. M. Keck Foundation announced a $150 million naming gift to strengthen medical, clinical and translational research and education, establishing Keck Medicine of USC. That gift followed a similarly transformative gift of $110 million in 1999 to the Keck School of Medicine. Another gift of $10 million in 2017 established the Willametta Keck Day Healthcare Center, a new outpatient facility at the Health Sciences Campus. In all, the foundation has given $292 million to the university, including $273 million to Keck Medicine. ERIC LINDBERG
Hidde de THE GOOD NEIGHBORS
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From disinfecting hospital rooms to feeding neighbors in need, these Trojans stepped forward when it mattered most.
Produce originally destined for USC restaurants ended up in the homes of some of L.A.’s most vulnerable residents during the first days of the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders. The veggies, bread and drinks filled more than 1,000 bags, which were sorted and distributed by USC volunteers. USC partnered with several East L.A. organizations on the effort.
THE PIONEERING ENGINEER
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In her lab, Andrea Armani and her research team at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering often work with specialized equipment to develop advanced materials and optical devices. Their latest project, however, consisted of everyday tools. Working with the Keck School of Medicine of USC, they built sanitation boxes that use powerful UV-C light to sterilize medical equipment like face shields.
THE BORN PROBLEM SOLVER While isolating with her family in Jacksonville, Florida, MacKenzie McClung ’20 did her part to help health workers. The USC Spirit Leaders captain and co-director of the Women’s Leadership Society at USC Annenberg contacted universities and museums and tracked down thousands of critical supplies like gloves, masks and gowns to donate to hospitals in Jacksonville. McClung also connected with 3D-printing manufacturers to design low-cost parts for much-needed ventilators.
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T H E CO MPA SSI ON AT E CL EA N ER At Keck Hospital of USC, Maria Saravia takes deep pride in her responsibilities despite the risks. She disinfects the COVID-19 ward from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. six days a week. “My job is to make sure their rooms are clean,” she says. “By doing that and making sure everything is taken care of, I feel like I’ve done my part to help.”
THE INVENTIVE ARTIST
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THE COMFORTING COOKS For hundreds of students unable to leave the University Park Campus during the pandemic, comfort came in the form of mac and cheese, rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes. USC kitchen workers prepared more than 700 grab-and-go dishes every day. Besides following the kitchen’s usual food safety procedures, two dedicated staff members sanitized common areas every 15 minutes. USC Hospitality also cooked about 8,000 meals a week to deliver to senior L.A. residents who had to stay home to avoid the virus.
Heroes Some 300 members of the USC Department of Public Safety stayed on the job to keep remaining students, employees and neighbors safe during the pandemic. They also distributed care packages of books, food and more to local families.
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FOOD DRIVE PHOTO BY SAUL GARCIA; POSTER ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC JUNKER; MCCLUNG PHOTO COURTESY OF MACKENZIE MCCLUNG; SARAVIA PHOTO BY RICARDO CARRASCO III
It was originally a playful reminder for restaurant workers. Now artist Eric Junker’s “Wash Your Hands” poster spreads the hand-washing message to everyone. The USC Roski School of Art and Design lecturer created a downloadable version of his poster and coloring book, and it’s now available on his website, ericjunker.com.
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Can a bioengineer find the world’s most soughtafter vaccine? BY GRETA HARRISON
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Campus is quiet. Once-bustling walkways and classrooms are empty. Libraries, restaurants, offices—almost all closed. But high in a fifth-floor lab in Ronald Tutor Hall, engineer Pin Wang and his colleagues continue their urgent work. They’ve halted all other experiments as they methodically pursue a singular goal. They’re searching for a cure. “You know that researchers are really determined,” says Wang, a Zohrab A. Kaprielian Fellow in Engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. “Everyone on my team feels this is important. We are determined to work on this as much as possible.”
The target in their sights hardly needs an introduction: COVID-19. The virus has launched countless research teams into an unprecedented race to develop a vaccine, new therapies and new tests—critical tools to slow its global rampage. Wang is among dozens of USC scientists who are part of a special universitywide research task force focused on thwarting the coronavirus. In his lab, his team searches for an effective vaccine and treatments to help patients recover faster. They hope to find it using their expertise in immunobioengineering, an emerging field that relies on highly technical engineering knowhow to strengthen the immune system. Wang and his team have already cobbled together a hybrid virus that holds promise as a vaccine. They pieced it together from the core of an infectious disease that mostly affects livestock along with spike proteins from the COVID-19 virus. “By having the COVID-19 surface protein, this can hopefully trick our
immune system into recognizing it,” Wang says. “That way, we can induce the neutralizing antibody to stop the virus from infecting us in the future.” The scientists also are examining how the immune system responds to the coronavirus with those healing antibodies. If researchers can replicate that process and create more antibodies, they could limit the severity of the disease’s effects on the body. “We could directly infuse the antibodies into the patient to block the virus,” Wang says. Even as they see early positive results in the lab, Wang and his team caution against expectations of a quick fix. If their approach works, they’ll need to prove that the hybrid virus will trigger our immune systems to make enough protective antibodies to block COVID-19. And vaccines require rigorous testing in clinical trials, a process Wang expects will take 18 months. “We know it’s time-sensitive and everyone wants to get a vaccine as soon as possible,” he says, “but we don’t want to generate something that may cause harm.”
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THANK
YOUSC ALUMNI Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for USC, our Trojan Family and your communities. You make USC.
ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300
@USCAlumni
FA M I LY
PHOTO BY INGE LINDHOLM
GEARING UP To get more protective equipment to health care workers, USC Iovine and Young Academy faculty and students fired up the school’s 3D printing and fabrication labs. Here, Rick Dilday ’14, MS ’20 traces templates for face masks. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti also stopped by to make face shields.
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Tap into the Power of the Trojan Family. On The Trojan Network, USC’s free online professional networking platform, you can easily serve as a mentor to new grads and current students—and reach out to thousands of fellow alumni in every industry for valuable career advice and to build your professional network. Sign up today for the The Trojan Network, a part of USC’s Trojans to Trojans (T2T) initiative, at careers.usc.edu/alumni/trojanfamily.
T2T ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300
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family news
Got You Covered
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW AND DIANA SEDLER
Resourceful alumni rally to safeguard health care workers. Eight 3D printers at Burbank Dental Lab typically churn out implants such as crowns for dental patients. But since mid-March, they’ve had a critical new assignment: creating custom medical face masks. Widespread reports of scarce personal protective equipment spurred the lab’s owners—the Sedler family, including USC dentistry alumna Diana Sedler DDS ’16, MS ’19, GCRT ’19—to action. “It was scary, these stories we were hearing from the nurses,” she says. “One of my friends did come down with the virus, and she was home for two weeks.” Teaming up with other alumni from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, including Lawrence Fung ’07, DDS ’11, MBV ’15 and George Jaber ’08, DDS ’13, they scaled production up to 36 masks a day. These dental experts are just a few of the Trojans who have rallied to support health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The remarkable effort is no surprise to Corii D. Berg ’89, USC trustee
and past president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors. “Through good times and in times of steep challenge, the Trojan Family answers the call,” he says. POWER OF PPE At the heart of many Trojans’ efforts is PPE, the now ubiquitous shorthand for personal protective equipment. Because the coronavirus spreads through droplets expelled with a sneeze or cough, PPE such as face shields and gowns is essential to prevent infections. Without them, health providers lose an important line of defense every time they go to work. When Thomas Won ’19 and Jessica Park ’17 learned about the potential shortage of PPE supplies at Los Angeles hospitals, they helped launch a community group, GetUsPPE LA. The group quickly raised thousands of dollars and collected donations of N95 respirator masks, face shields and hand sanitizer. “During this difficult time, it’s been incredible to see individuals from our community carrying the same burden and coming together to fill in the gap,” Park says. Another USC grad in the PPE sourcing race is Ted Kaiser ’05. Normally hard at work overseeing his global recycling
business, Dock7 Materials Group, he shifted his attention as the coronavirus spread. Using his experience, he began sourcing FDA-approved masks, hand sanitizer and other medical equipment for wholesale buyers. Amy Atmore DPT ’11 found a way to put her childhood hobby to good use. The performance therapist for the Phoenix Suns spent hours of downtime at her sewing machine. The result: dozens of cloth masks for front-line responders, including her sister, who works in an emergency room. “This experience has reminded me that one person can make a difference,” Atmore says. “You really can be the change you wish to see in this world, and by taking immediate action, you could help spark action in others.” SCALING UP Brian Weitman ’94 saw an even bigger solution to dwindling supplies: Southern California’s well-established apparel industry. As the owner of STC-QST, a company that makes clothing components like waistbands and linings, he started production on batches of masks and donated them to health care workers in Los Angeles. He also pressed politicians and investors to provide financial support to help his industry colleagues ramp up their production of similar items. “What I love about Los Angeles is that there are a lot of scrappy entrepreneurs here,” Weitman says. “They’re going to figure out what needs to happen and get it done.” Another USC Marshall grad, Mike Singer ’85, knows exactly what health workers need to stay safe. The CEO of Careismatic Brands, the world’s largest supplier of scrubs, lined up a recent donation of $1 million in protective clothing for hospitals across the country. “It is extremely important that we do everything possible to support health care professionals, especially right now in this time of crisis,” he says. “They are putting their own lives at risk to save lives.” ERIC LINDBERG
Andrew Sedler, left, and USC alumna Diana Sedler are among the many volunteers who made protective gear during the pandemic.
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Post-College Life, Interrupted The Peace Corps offered a path to discovering herself and the world. Then the pandemic put her life on pause. Only eight months after graduation, Sierra Drummond ’18 started teaching English to children in the rural village of Ban Dong Wai in northeast Thailand through the Peace Corps. This journey of self-discovery was a natural next step for a young woman who studied NGOs and social change at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. When she flew to California in March for her cousin’s wedding, she expected it to be a short visit. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, keeping her at home with her family in Thousand Oaks, California, instead. Drummond recently looked back on how the coronavirus upended her post-college life.
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My flight to California was in two days, and I had this strange, heavy feeling that maybe I should reconsider this trip. But at that point, my country director thought there was no real chance of evacuation. And the virus had been pretty well-contained. Obviously, the thing that was scary about this virus was that it was unprecedented. So much about it is still unknown. But I never thought that I wasn’t going to be able to get back to Thailand at all. My plane back to Thailand had been scheduled for March 22. I had this feeling that maybe more restrictions would make me unable to get back, though, so my dad and I were looking for an earlier flight. But on March 15, the Peace Corps announced they were evacuating all programs. I had another year left of my program. I would have closed my service—potentially by March 2021—but I had actually thought about extending another year.
Now we are officially “returned Peace Corps volunteers”—no longer volunteers. I would like to resume my work in Thailand, but I know there’s a chance that I won’t be able to. It’s been hard because I haven’t even completed my goodbyes. There are so many. My network of family members in Thailand was so wide. Everyone in my community took it upon themselves to really take incredible care of me, as if I was everybody’s daughter. It was amazing. It feels impossible to really respectfully and responsibly express my gratitude toward all of them, because I can’t even contact most of them. The Peace Corps was like a series of self-discoveries. It was a privilege just to be a part of such a beautiful and welcoming culture. It’s the gratitude I have toward Thai people because many went above and beyond and making me feel at home there. Now I’m home with two nieces, my brother and his wife and my parents. It’s very much a lively home full of people who I’ve missed so much. But it almost feels like I can’t carve out a space to mourn my experience—although as time goes on in quarantine, I’ve appreciated it more and more. I know I have it so much better than so many people. The virus is so much bigger than my specific experience. Editor David Medzerian conducted this interview, which has been edited for length and clarity.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF SIERRA DRUMMOND
T R O J A N
To watch the webinar “Resilience Through Times of Uncertainty,” go to bit.ly/USCAAStressDetox.
Pressure Points
There’s no quick fix to stop stress, but here’s how you can feel more in control. Do you feel overwhelmed thinking of your to-do list? Or do you wear your busyness like a badge of pride? Ritu Riyat MPH ’04 has seen it all. She works with clients through The Stress Detox, a framework she created to reduce stress and burnout in the workplace. “It’s not about eliminating stress in our lives,” she says. “It’s developing a relationship with it.” She recently brought her expertise to the USC Alumni Association webinar “Resilience Through Times of Uncertainty.” She talks with USC editor Elisa Huang about common concerns she hears—and how to rethink living mindfully.
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JUST HEARING THE WORD “STRESS” STRESSES ME OUT, SO I DON’T THINK ABOUT IT.
Stress is not inherently bad. It helps us keep alert, focused and tapped into our creative energy. It even takes us into that flow state where we’re really immersed in what we’re doing. So think of stress as your body’s natural response to change. When changes occur, we fall somewhere on the stress spectrum. Change is constant, and so is our body’s response to it. But it’s important to recognize that, when left unchecked, stress can get ugly.
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I DON’T SEE THE POINT OF MEDITATION.
Meditation doesn’t need to be an hour every day; even five minutes helps. When you become quiet and still, chances are that your mind will be flooded with thoughts. This is normal. The point of meditation is to develop awareness, to notice these thoughts but not attach to them. In this way, you strengthen your ability to respond versus react. End your meditation by bringing to mind one experience—small or large—that you are grateful for. Gratitude flips your mental state into thinking about what you already have, not what you can’t control.
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THE PANDEMIC IS THE REASON I’M STRESSED ALL THE TIME.
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WHEN I FEEL STRESS, I CAN’T CONTROL IT.
When change happens rapidly, it can short-circuit our ability to adapt, which is what a lot of people experienced at the beginning of the pandemic. We lost our routines, which help us have some level of control. They put our mind at ease because we know what’s coming. Focus on what you can control—healthy routines are key. Something as simple as a five-minute morning meditation or drinking a glass of water can make a huge difference.
PHOTO COURTESY OF RITU RIYAT
Do small things to interrupt the response in that moment to give your nervous system a little relief and calm. Take slow, deep breaths—it may take 60 to 90 seconds, because they say it takes 90 seconds for an emotion to process through you. Try smiling. Even if it’s a fake smile or laugh, in that moment you can’t be angry at the same time. And move your body to shift your emotional energy into a physical one. Sometimes I’ll just start jumping up and down for 90 seconds to let that adrenaline go.
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Connect
with USC. Now more important than ever. Now easier than ever. Lately, we’ve all rediscovered the power of connecting with the people and things that mean the most to us. That’s why it’s a great time to explore the redesigned alumni portal, Fight Online, where you can: • Customize your profile • Access the alumni directory and your
digital membership card • Register for alumni events
We’re here for you—lifelong and worldwide. Visit FightOnline.usc.edu to get started today.
ALUMNI.USC.EDU | ALUMNI@USC.EDU | TEL: 213 740 2300 | LIFELONG AND WORLDWIDE
family news
Saving Lives, One Breath at a Time A nurse in a rural Georgia hospital shares the harrowing story of her first COVID-19 patient.
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER DIXON
By the time her friend came to the hospital in mid-March, Jennifer Dixon MSN ’20 knew he was in trouble. The well-built man in his 40s had no history of health problems but was suddenly drawn to the brink of death. “He struggled to breathe,” she says. “He was gray and pouring sweat. His oxygen saturation was very low. He had blood clots in his lungs. The mortality rate when you put all those things together—” Her voice catches.
as an ER nurse in rural Georgia. But with all her experience, she had never seen anything like COVID-19. At the hospital, she was told that the highest-risk patients were seniors, smokers and people with lung conditions—“not healthy strong men and women my age,” she says. Seeing her friend was a complete shock. Unable to receive the critical care he desperately needed in the 10-bed emergency room, he was sent to a larger hospital with
Jennifer Dixon, third from right, cares for patients in a Georgia hospital.
Dixon has been a nurse for more than two decades. She just completed her Master of Science in Nursing degree at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work this spring, her remote classes and clinical training wedged between shifts trojanfamily.usc.edu
an intensive care unit. For days, Dixon resisted the temptation to call or check his online medical record. Instead, she sent him messages. A smiley face. A shining sun. “He’d send me one back,” she says. “Just letting me know he was still breathing.”
For weeks, she sent notes and felt her heart leap each time a reply came. Then one day, Dixon arrived at work and saw a familiar truck in the parking lot. “I pulled up next to him and he smiled at me,” she says. “I just sobbed.”
Her ears and cheeks ache from hours in a tight mask. He still needed blood thinners and oxygen. He still felt short of breath. But Dixon’s first COVID-19 patient had survived. In the weeks that followed, she treated many more people with the coronavirus. Some only needed oxygen and could stay in her tiny emergency unit. Others needed ventilators or more intensive care, and she transferred them to another facility in a bigger town. Her ears and cheeks ache from hours in a tight mask. The stress weighs on her. She escapes for brief moments—cuddles and backyard romps with her kids, running on the treadmill with music on full blast. And although sometimes it’s hard to see, beneath the exhaustion and emotional strain, she’s happy. “I wouldn’t do anything else but be a nurse,” Dixon says. “I think about how tired I am, but also how lucky I am. Because I love what I do.” JACQUELINE MA Z ARELL A usc trojan family
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Scholarships change lives.
“Thanks to my scholarship, I feel free to follow my passions for emergency medicine, social justice and education when deciding on a medical specialty— rather than deciding based solely on earning potential so I can pay off loans. I believe this will help me to attain a much more satisfying career and to make a significantly greater contribution to society.” Gabe Padilla Pierre Viole Endowed Scholarship Fund Keck School of Medicine of USC Class of 2021
Every gift counts. giveto.usc.edu
A LU M N U S
P R O F I L E
PA U L
Culture Connection
IMAGES COURTESY OF MORPHOSIS ARCHITECTS
The project architect for the Korean American National Museum brings an evolving cultural legacy home. When Paul Choi ’08 heard last year that Los Angeles’ highly anticipated Korean American National Museum requested concept ideas, he knew he needed to be a part of it. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime project,” he says. “It’s the first purpose-built facility of its kind for the Korean American community in the nation, and it’s in my hometown so it has a personal significance.” Fortunately, Choi works at Morphosis, the award-winning architecture firm founded by Thom Mayne ’69 that was asked to propose design ideas. As the team’s project architect, Choi helped unveil the first design concepts for the museum last summer. Born in the San Fernando Valley, Choi was raised by first-generation Korean immigrants who valued faith and education. Drawn to architecture because it combines aesthetics with tangible, real-world applications, Choi chose USC after touring its student studio spaces. He spoke with writer Rachel Ng about
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the inspiration and challenges behind the Korean American National Museum project. How do you translate the Korean American experience into a museum space? The museum design takes inspiration from traditional Korean architecture and landscapes and reinterprets them as memories of what the first generation left behind. It would have been a futile exercise to translate the entirety of the Korean American cultural experience into the design of the building because the Korean American experience is not monolithic. It is constantly evolving. Much of that experience will be conveyed in the stories that the exhibitions tell over time. What would you like museum guests to experience? It would be amazing if visitors can feel transported into a space that allows them to fully experience the exhibits and be connected to nature. There are a variety of spaces that are interconnected in various ways, such that you are often seeing one space through another. As the visitors navigate through the exhibit spaces, they’ll find themselves in spaces that they may have seen glimpses of earlier in their journey. Large expansive glass walls and doors to an outdoor courtyard and terrace reinforce the indoor-outdoor connection representative of the Southern California lifestyle. The courtyard is a reference to the traditional Korean hanok houses and is meant to be a gathering and social space. The main gallery is dramatically
tall and cathedral-like with a space that is suspended in the middle. This gallery is composed of two cone-like volumes that intersect —representing the duality of the Korean American identity. The design was inspired by the concept of “displaced memory.” What does that mean to you? It makes me think of my parents and grandparents, who were the ones “displaced” from their homes to live a new life in America. They saw so many struggles and sacrificed so that my generation could have every opportunity available in life. Their strength and resilience remind of me how far they have come and how well they have succeeded in providing for the following generation. Now that both of my grandfathers have passed away, my memories of them are what I can hold onto as a connection to my Korean heritage.
Paul Choi
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family news
Proud to Serve Trojans use military training—and USC connections— to help communities facing COVID-19. When the University Park Campus closed to most faculty, staff and students in March, Justin Lee ’17, MSW ’20 headed home to Oregon with his younger brother. Only three days later, he unexpectedly turned around and drove back to Los Angeles. The National Guardsman’s unit had just been activated.
I love my Trojan Family. I was honored to be of service.
region. As of June, he had helped distribute more than 15 million meals to Californians in need. Before COVID-19, service organizations in the community were primarily staffed by volunteers. But those volunteers needed to stay home during the pandemic, Lee explained. “We were called in to help, and the need has grown many times over.” Lee is no stranger to humanitarian service. As an undergraduate, he participated in the USC Army ROTC program, volunteered at a local homeless shelter and supported a student group that helped resettle Syrian refugees. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and commissioned in 2017, then joined the
Lt. Col. Jengi Martinez (center) and crew on the tarmac
Lt. Lee reported to a tactical operations center in Palm Springs, California, where he oversees platoons on humanitarian missions throughout the
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California Army National Guard. Lee recently completed a master’s in social work with a military focus from the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social
Work. It was among the degrees USC virtually conferred May 15. When operations wind down, he wants to use his social work background to help others in the armed forces. “I believe that as a nation, we must take steps to better fulfill our solemn duty to care for all those who have served and continue to serve our country,” he says. FLIGHT CONNECTIONS Sending an emergency shipment of face masks from Los Angeles to an aircraft carrier in Guam isn’t as simple as going to the post office. But the extensive Trojan network can put together complicated plans quickly. When news spread that COVID-19 had hit the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam, Robert Harmon wanted to help. The medical device entrepreneur had 5,000 masks to donate but no means to deliver them. He reached out to Navy vet John Semcken. “The fact that he thought to reach out to me was pure luck,” says Semcken, a board member of the USC Marshall School of Business’ Master of Business for Veterans (MBV ) program. Semcken knew an Air Force pilot through the program. He tapped the program’s director, James Bogle MA ’99, MBV ’16, to locate her. The person they had in mind was Lt. Col. Jengi Martinez MBV ’15, a pilot for United Airlines on active reserve with the 729th Airlift Squadron. She happened to be at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California, when she received a text from Bogle. Could she fly to the Roosevelt? “It was pure serendipity all the way,” she says. “I happened to be there, and when I checked the squadron schedule, I saw that there was, in fact, a flight going out to Guam that week.” On April 15, she took off with the precious cargo. “ This is just another incredible Trojan Family connection,” Bogle says proudly. “I’m not at all surprised that it was Jengi Martinez who took this on and made it happen.” Says Martinez: “I love my Trojan Family. I was honored to be of service.” RON MACKOVICH AND J ULIE TIL SNER
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Lt. Justin Lee completed his master's degree in social work while serving in the National Guard.
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back in time
Fifty years ago, the Trojans started an unparalleled championship streak. The Trojan boys of summer clinched their 1970 national championship just before midnight in the 15th inning amid a cloud of dust. A dribbler down the third-base line and a baserunner’s mad dash home earned more than a College World Series win for USC. It would open the door to five straight national titles, a streak of college baseball domination that remains unmatched 50 years later. “Of all the championships, I would have to say this was the greatest,” Trojans
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Coach Rod Dedeaux told the media after the game, according to the Omaha WorldHerald. “We have been in a couple of tough final games before, but this was the most exciting.” Dedeaux knew drama well. In 1958, the legendary coach led his title-winning USC team to victory in a nail-biting comeback. At one point down 4-0, the Trojans ultimately beat Missouri 8-7 in the 12th inning. But USC’s College World Series win on June 18, 1970, was perhaps more unlikely. The team had won the national title two years earlier, but they started 1970’s double-elimination, eight-team tournament by losing to Ohio in the first round. It then took them 14 innings to beat Texas and reach the final. That adversity hardened team members for their championship test: a matchup against Florida State. USC starting pitcher Greg Widman ’72 threw seven innings before he was
spelled by future major leaguer Jim Barr ’70, who hurled eight without giving up a run. The teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 heading into USC’s half of the 15th. Two walks and an infield hit loaded the bases for the Trojans. That brought up USC second baseman Frank Alfano ’74, who tapped a ball to third. The pitcher fielded the ball and flung it home, but speedy All-American shortstop Cal Meier ’71 beat the tag. Cue the celebrations and USC’s sixth collegiate crown. In all, Dedeaux led the Trojans to 11 national championships—10 of them as the sole head coach—before retiring in 1986 at age 72. A L I C I A D I R A D O
From left, pitcher Jim Barr, coach Rod Dedeaux and pitcher Brent Strom, who graduated in 1971
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PHOTO COURTESY OF USC ATHLETICS
Baseball’s Cardinal and Gold Age
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