Emily Weiner
Austin, TX
Emily participated in the 2019 Introduction to Business Course as a rising sophomore.
" When I decided to do the summer program, I had no idea what I wanted to do, or what I wanted to study ."
Despite an initial fear of public speaking, challenging course material, and being one of the youngest students in the class, Emily thrived.
" I learned a lot, but it wasn’t easy... It was a lot of presenting and learning how to get over your fear of it... you need to get yourself out there and take ahold of the reigns."
After 4 weeks, she left the program with eyes open to the business world. Emily now plans to pursue finance in college and is actively taking business courses in the 11th grade.
" USC really taught me that I wanted to study finance because there are so many opportunities available. I feel like I have a head start, which is what made the program so great. I also met awesome people in the program, who I’m still in contact with today. "
During the pandemic, she began working with different shelters in Austin, Texas. She makes and sells handmade masks to raise funds for a computer lab at the non-profit organization, Center for Child Protection.
" Children should have access to these resources and have equal ability to work and to study. "
The skills she learned in the Introduction to Business course, including managing finances, allocating resources, and the connection from businesses to charities, she claims, are pivotal in her entrepreneurial success.
When asked about her key takeaway from the summer program, she responded:
" If you step away and you're afraid of what is going to happen, you will never realize your true potential ... You are so much more than your failures. "
The image (left) features Emily surrounded by a collection of handmade masks during the 2020 pandemic.
Yaya Shi
Los Angeles, CA
Yaya participated in the 2019 Psychological Science and Society Course as a rising junior.
" I chose to attend USC Summer Programs because I live locally and wanted to get to know the school better while also exploring my interest in psychology."
Yaya says she has always been fascinated by the human mind, and believes by understanding ourselves, we can understand the world around us.
In the course, she not only learned college-level Freudian psychology, but also considered the careers she may pursue with a psychology degree.
" I think the summer course was really great for exploring specific interests or planning your career goals. "
In addition to exploring her academic interests and cementing Psychology as a college major, Yaya unexpectedly acquired a new passion.
" As part of the psychology class, we did yoga ... I took my chances, and I’ve been doing yoga ever since! "
Yaya also says she was blown away by the people she was able to meet, in and outside of class. The diversity of the students that attended the program, she said, was both pleasant and unexpected.
" My roommate was from Guam! It’s pretty cool just meeting all kinds of people. "
Yaya is now in her senior year of high school. Graduation is on the horizon, but she still actively serves her community.
Growing up, Yaya experienced hearing loss and began wearing hearing aids. Her primary mission is helping other children in a similar situation as herself.
Yaya actively works with the USC Caruso Center for Childhood Communication and contributes significantly to their hearing aid bank. She travels around the community and contacts local clinics, collecting hearing aids to deliver to the Caruso Center.
" The USC Caruso Center collects hearing aids that people no longer use, so that kids that get a hearing test can borrow one if they cannot yet afford their own or if they have not matched up with one they'll use for a long time. "
Yaya also conducts independent research on the stigma associated with hearing loss in teens.
On top of trying to hide their hearing aids, Yaya explains that many experience difficulty navigating school accommodations or learning to live in a largely bilingual community like Los Angeles.
" I wanted to use my experience to talk to children that grew up with similar experiences as me to address the stigma among this younger population."
She hopes to continue her activism at USC and apply the knowledge she gains in her major coursework to more intensely research this topic.
The image (right) features Yaya and the course professor for Psychological Science and Society, Ms. Gulnaz on the last day of classes.
TREY CHATTERTON
Tustin, CA
Trey participated in the 2020 Introduction to Business Course as a rising senior.
"Choosing that program was just about the fact that I’ve always worked in business and always wanted to major in business in college, so I always felt it was important to learn more about it and enhance my knowledge.”
Before attending USC Summer Programs Trey worked at a financial firm in an introductory position to get a feel for it, but says that his experience with Summer Programs helped him advance at the firm.
"As I got more into the USC Summer Program I learned so much about the field, and that actually helped me move up to a salesman."
In his new position, Trey has the opportunity to make sales and get clients for the company and says he puts the skills he learned in the Business program to use frequently.
Beyond learning the ins and outs of business, Trey also notes that the program gave him a different perspective on his overall work ethic.
"When you experience something this rigorous, it helps put things in perspective, and I took that back to my high school and really improved my academics there as well."
For Trey, a standout from his summer course was meeting the founder of Vans. He had the opportunity to ask him about his experience with starting his own company.
“He said to me you have to start young. You have to have the motivation, the drive, you have to put your mind to it. He said if you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.”
Trey says this stuck with him as a key takeaway, and anytime he wants to accomplish something he reflects on this to push himself.
He said another standout and surprise was meeting the rapper Saweetie, a USC School of Marshall alumna. Even though the program was online, the course featured virtual field trips and guest speakers.
The image (left) features Trey biking in Tustin, CA with friends.
PIERCE WHITNEY
San Francisco, CA
Pierce participated in the 2020 Creative Writing Workshop as a rising senior.
She says that when she was told about the program, she immediately felt like it was a great opportunity for her.
"I’ve always been in love with storytelling, so I’ve always loved to write or just create stories in my free time. That's really what lead me to the program, along with bettering my work for a possible career."
At the time, she was interested in becoming a film director because of her passion for storytelling and movies, and she wanted to better her work.
However through her experience at the program, she learned she could combine this passion with her love for film as well through screenwriting.
"I never knew you could major in screenwriting, and during the program I was really excited writing these scripts, and that’s when I realized I could combine this love for film and this love for creative writing."
Now she is working on screenwriting, and has been compiling several scripts and short stories to build a portfolio.
“The skills I learned from the program I am definitely incorporating into what I’m writing now and my portfolio for colleges.”
Pierce says a huge part of these skills was becoming much more meticulous in revising and reconstructing her works.
She noted that the workshop based classes, where students would provide feedback to each other helped shape her perspective on the revision process. While she initially saw feedback as destructive, she has now grown to love it.
“We were all there to get feedback, we were all there to get critiqued, whether that’s good or bad it was to help us as a writer. It was more like a discussion and very constructive.”
When asked about a standout from her student experience at USC Summer Programs, Pierce says it was getting to keep an eBook containing all of her and her classmates stories from throughout the semester to reminisce on.
But beyond that, Pierce says there was a lot more to the program as far as her growth as a writer goes.
"The program made me realize what I wanted to do and what I wanted to write, I was trying to get to the bottom of where I was going in the future and I definitely found that."
The image (right) pictures Pierce participating in a photo poster campaign focusing on self-positivity at her school on International Women's Day. The campaign was run by the women's club at her school which she co-founded called EmpowHER.