My Room, My USC
We invited students to tell us about their USC residential housing experiences in a 2012 contest, and they didn’t disappoint. Three USC freshman give us a peek into what makes their rooms a home away from home.
Michael Pheffer
Hall: North Residential College
Major: Art
Home: Indiana
Design style: Eclectic
Nickname for his floor: “The Penthouse Penthouse”
Longest he’s stayed awake: “For 24 hours — for my art project.”
How quickly he gained the “freshman 15”: “Joining crew fall semester kept the weight off . “I think I gained more weight over winter break than at college.”
His ritual: “I get up and make my bed. It just makes your room seem cleaner.”
Room hang-up: Carelessly spilled food or drink. “Someone got chocolate on the sofa. But I couldn’t be mad because I got it out with a Tide to Go pen.”
Most special thing in the room: “There’s a bag of Skittles in my room. When I was little, my mom used to have to bribe me with Skittles to get out of the car to go to preschool. Well, she hid Skittles in my dorm room so I found them a week later when I moved in.” Another hidden bag popped up in the sock drawer.
Why live in North: “I heard it was the most social.”
Signs of his USC spirit: “Tickets and wristbands from USC football games
Shivanti Kariyawasam
Hall: Pardee Tower
Major: Human development and aging
Home: California
Favorite study spot: Von KleinSmid Center Library. “You feel so happy to be in there. There’s candy and nice people.”
Nickname for her hall: “The Sorority Floor” or “The Theater Floor”
Longest she’s stayed awake: 23 hours. “I wasn’t planning to stay up that late. I stayed up until 2 a.m. talking to a high school friend and couldn’t go to sleep. My friends had to finish some work so I went to Leavey [Library] with them and stayed up till 5:30 a.m. I fell asleep there.”
How quickly she gained the “freshman 15”: “When I went home on break, people said, ‘Shivanti, you look so good.’ But my mom said, ‘You need to work out more.’ ”
Floor bond: “The fact that there are a lot of theater majors has brought the rest of us together. But having a lot of theater majors around makes me wish I could sing.”
Why live in Pardee: “It’s not known for partying, but not antisocial, either.
Signs of her USC spirit: Traveler plush toy and a USC blanket made by her grandmother
Briahna Hendey
Hall: Birnkrant Residential College
Major: Biochemistry (pre-med)
Home: California
Memorable hall activity: The Tchaikovsky Spectacular at the Hollywood Bowl Nickname for her floor: “BK7”
Longest she’s stayed awake: About 48 hours. “I waited until the day before to write a 12-page paper for Russian Thought and Civilization.”
Surprising class: “Russian Civ — it fit into my schedule and I ended up loving it.”
How quickly she gained the “freshman 15”: “I’m working on avoiding it.”
Residence hall bond: Thursday night facultymaster dinners in EVK dining hall. “There’s better food and they have good speakers. They have ice cream and various kinds of cake.”
Her ritual: “I try to make my bed every day because it’s something I haven’t done up to point.”
Trips around LA: The Santa Monica Pier, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the La Brea Tar Pits
Why live in Birnkrant: During her Explore USC program for freshmen at USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, “everyone was pro-Birnkrant. It’s about working hard and playing hard.”
Signs of her USC spirit: USC foam finger, USC pins (gift from grandma) and Traveler plush toy
