For this mother and daughter, USC Alumni Weekend is a family affair

When Nora Grabar ’85 found out that her daughter Katherine (Grabar) Johnson had chosen to enroll as an undergraduate at USC, her heart swelled with joy and pride. She was thrilled that her daughter would get to experience the same USC traditions she cherished during her own college journey — and that she’d become a part of something much larger.

“My mom gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear, ‘Welcome to the Trojan Family,’” Johnson ’15 says.

“It was a definite tearjerker,” Grabar says.

Now, for the first time, mother and daughter will celebrate reunion milestones together during USC Alumni Weekend, taking place Nov. 13-15 on the University Park Campus. Grabar’s class is marking her 40th reunion, and Johnson’s its 10th.

For Johnson, partaking in some of the weekend’s festivities alongside her mother — including tailgating and cheering on the Cardinal and Gold at the homecoming football game — will be a unique bonding experience. “I think it enhances both our mother-daughter relationship and our ties to the Trojan Family,” says Johnson, a graduate of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and a deputy district attorney who lives in Orange County.

Returning to campus together for Alumni Weekend “gives me goosebumps,” says Grabar, a graduate of the USC Marshall School of Business and owner of a graphic design business who lives in Coto de Caza in Orange County. “You raise your children to go out and be the best person they can be, and USC helped to do that with Katherine. She is an exceptional byproduct of the USC Trojan Family. I couldn’t be more proud of her, and it’s fun to experience USC events with her.”

“The bonds that are formed and shared through the USC experience are lifelong and worldwide,” says Daniel Prince, president of the USC Alumni Association. “We are honored to celebrate with all of our alumni, including Nora and Katherine, during Alumni Weekend. Their story demonstrates the strength and depth of the Trojan Family, while reinforcing our shared traditions of excellence, leadership, volunteerism and giving back to USC and our community.”

A Trojan Family tree with deep roots

Grabar and Johnson’s Trojan Family lineage stretches back over 90 years. Grabar’s great-uncle Roderick Cameron, who played football for the Trojans, graduated from USC in 1937. Toward the end of his life, he struggled with memory problems due to Alzheimer’s disease. But Grabar notes that when she visited him, he could recall details of the latest Trojan football games — despite not remembering her name.

“I guess the Trojan Family runs deep in this family,” she says. Her brother, Craig Spiess ’91, is also a Trojan.

Grabar, who grew up in Davis, Calif., knew USC was right for her from the moment she stepped on campus. “My first experience visiting Southern California was going to USC for a tour,” she says. “I loved the traditions, the band and what USC stood for: its stewardship, volunteerism and giving back. That always resonated with me.”

While raising Johnson and her younger sister Christina, Grabar imparted her love for USC to her children — but it was a house divided. Grabar’s husband, Greg, is a diehard Bruin who earned his executive master’s degree in business administration from UCLA. Watching college football was a family pastime when Johnson was growing up, but USC-UCLA rivalry games split them into two camps — and two separate televisions.

After applying to colleges, Johnson was accepted to both USC and UCLA. She attended events for admitted students at both schools. At USC, Johnson felt the same kind of kinship with the campus her mother had 30 years prior. “Hearing the band play, having lunch in Town and Gown and getting pictures with Tommy Trojan — no one does it better than USC,” she says.

Though Johnson’s sister Christina chose to attend UCLA, the family has also added Trojans to their divided house. “I married a Trojan,” Johnson says of her husband Steven Johnson ’14, a graduate of the USC Price School of Public Policy. “My husband’s grandmother went to USC. His younger sister went to USC. His mom worked at USC. Now, we outnumber Bruins in the family.”

“With my daughter and other relatives proud to be Trojans, I’ve come to appreciate how the USC spirit creates lasting bonds and a true sense of belonging,” Grabar says.

Passing the torch

“When I picked USC, it was very much an 18-year-old just being like, ‘I want the traditional college experience. I want to go to a good school and have a fun time,’” Johnson says. “I didn’t realize the innumerable benefits from sharing this with my mother.”

During college, Johnson enjoyed swapping stories with her mom about shared USC experiences such as studying at Doheny Memorial Library and biking from campus to the Row, where USC fraternities and sororities have their houses. “My mom, to her credit, let me make it my own experience,” Johnson says.

The two pledged different sororities (Grabar was in Gamma Phi Beta, while Johnson was in Delta Delta Delta), but a shared love of community service connected them across generations. “I learned a lot in my Trojan life about giving back,” Grabar says.

“Mom has never given up the spirit of service she learned at USC,” Johnson says. “She has kept that going even when she’s been working or raising young kids.”

Today, Grabar assists nonprofits with design work, organizes auctions for a childhood cancer nonprofit, and provides executive management support to the American Red Cross, among other volunteer efforts.

Grabar’s volunteerism rubbed off on Johnson, who at USC became an orientation advisor and Panhellenic president. As a senior, she was selected as a member of the Order of the Torch, which recognized students for outstanding leadership, academic achievement, service and mentorship, and contributions to the USC community. Her desire to give back to her community laid the groundwork for Johnson’s career in public service as a prosecutor.

Power of the Trojan Family network

Johnson arrived at USC undecided on her major but soon discovered her passion for law and politics through coursework at USC Dornsife. She pursued a double major in political science and law, history and culture. Her path to becoming an attorney involved “seizing those opportunities in the classroom at USC, leveraging the Trojan Family network and really being a sponge and soaking up every opportunity USC could give me,” Johnson says.

She credits USC professors, alumni and resources with helping connect her to internships and clerkships at a law firm, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. After attending law school at George Washington University, Johnson leaned into the Trojan Family network once again in her search for opportunities as a public prosecutor in California. She spent six years as a deputy district attorney in San Diego before joining the Orange County district attorney’s office as a deputy district attorney in January.

To Johnson, belonging to the Trojan Family means being part of a group dedicated to offering tangible help or encouragement to its members, especially in times of need. “I wouldn’t be where I am today without USC,” she says.

Wanting to pay forward some of the guidance and support she received at USC, she currently participates in the USC Dornsife Alumni Mentorship Program as a mentor to a female student who aspires to attend law school.

Johnson’s success is “a true testament to what the Trojan Family has done for us and what we try to give back triple fold,” Grabar says.

Joining forces for USC

Since moving back to Orange County after years spent in San Diego and on the East Coast, Johnson is excited to live closer to her mother and to USC. The two have decided to get more involved in service to the university together.

They’ve recently joined the scholarship committee for Town & Gown of USC and are serving as co-chairs of their respective reunion class committees. Coming to the University Park Campus from Orange County for events “is a lot easier when you can ride the carpool lane together,” Johnson says.

Their USC pursuits and carpool rides have allowed mother and daughter more dedicated time together, outside of family gatherings. “It gets to be just us, and I like that,” Johnson says. “That helps grow our relationship as adults. And then we get to have those memories together.”

USC Alumni Weekend promises to be a high point of creating special memories. Five years ago, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person reunions, so this will be Johnson’s first opportunity since graduating to experience her reunion on campus.

“My godmother, who is a USC alum and graduated with my mom, is flying down from Sacramento, so we get to spend the weekend together,” Johnson says. “My little sister from my sorority is coming, so we’re going to have quite the fun reunion weekend for our 10th and 40th, respectively, bringing both biological and adopted family members.”

USC Alumni Weekend “is another step on our mother-daughter journey together of growing, giving back to USC and being part of the Trojan Family together,” she adds. “It’s the beginning of the next part of my USC story.”