USC’s newest graduates bask in commencement joy at the Coliseum

As the iconic flame atop the peristyle of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum blazed on Thursday evening and USC’s 143rd commencement ceremony neared its finale, a surprise guest conductor stepped up to lead the USC Trojan Marching Band’s performance of the alma mater: commencement speaker Gustavo Dudamel, music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The crowd of 46,000 roared with approval. But there was one more surprise: USC President Beong-Soo Kim joined the band as featured cellist to perform with vocalist Leverett Wilson, a USC Thornton School of Music student.

It seemed fitting that Dudamel and Kim would embark on personal firsts before the crowd and 11,518 people watching the proceedings via livestream: Both men earlier had encouraged the robe-and-mortarboard-clad graduates in the Coliseum field to not be afraid to go first in life and to use their passions to make the world a better place.

“We hope you win and win big,” Kim said during his first commencement address as USC president. “But there’s something we wish for you even more than all that. Not just that you come in first, but that you’re willing to go first by believing in yourself. … And along the way, you can shape a life that is full of achievement, full of adventure, and that’s uniquely yours.”

“I congratulate you for the world that lies ahead of you,” Dudamel said, “for growing and making real what you are dreaming right now, sitting there … looking toward the future.”

All told, USC conferred 18,982 degrees this spring — 6,118 undergraduate degrees and 12,864 graduate degrees and certificates.

“Thank you all for coming together this evening to celebrate our graduates,” Kim said. “No one arrives at this milestone by themselves. It reflects years of support from parents and grandparents, teachers and mentors, friends and family.”

On the field, where approximately 8,600 graduates in attendance sat on white folding chairs, the Trojan energy was electric. Members of the Class of 2026 erupted in cheers each time their individual schools were mentioned. Yet seated all together, they weren’t siloed into schools ­— they were united as one graduating class sharing this rite of passage.

At times they stood, raised their mortarboards to the sky, flashed “Fight On” fingers and waved their hands in the air to demonstrate their enthusiasm.

At the end, thousands of smartphone flashlights in the audience danced in the darkness after the stadium’s floodlights were turned off and the Trojan Marching Band began to play.

A fleet of drones outfitted with multicolored lights rose above the peristyle. Wild cheers erupted each time the drones configured themselves into familiar imagery such as Tommy Trojan and Traveler and the Fight On sign. They also spelled out “USC” and “CONGRATS GRADS.” The program concluded with a thundering fireworks finale.

Four days of festivities

Thursday night’s main ceremony was one of more than 100 USC-sponsored events taking place over four days. The official Trojan Family commemoration of the Class of 2026 began Wednesday and continued throughout the day Thursday with doctoral hoodings, cultural association celebrations and student-athlete events.

On Friday, most of the university’s schools held individual ceremonies, with standout speakers including football legend Pete Carroll, punk rocker (and USC doctorate holder) Dexter Holland of The Offspring, author and social justice advocate Sister Helen Prejean and Olympian Lindsey Vonn. Commencement wraps up Saturday with Keck School of Medicine of USC ceremonies and the presentation of master’s degrees by the USC Rossier School of Education.

The importance of self-belief and overcoming fears

During his address, Kim pointed to the notable feats of USC graduate and Olympic great Allyson Felix, who is training for the 2028 Olympic Games in her 40s, and of USC Price School of Public Policy graduate Lucy Westlake, the youngest American woman to climb and summit Mount Everest. Westlake has earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was among the graduates on the field.

“Your willingness to go first and to push past the natural insecurities we all feel will create opportunities you couldn’t imagine, and just like Allyson or Lucy, you can inspire others, regardless of whether you succeed or fail,” Kim said.

Kim asked everyone in the Coliseum who wasn’t a student — including the academic deans from USC’s 23 schools and academic units seated behind him — to raise their hands and wave if they had ever put themselves on the line for a job, a promotion or any opportunity, even though they had never done it before and weren’t sure if they would succeed.

“As a new university president, I’ll also raise my hand and say: This may be my first commencement address, but I’ve got this,” he said as the crowd cheered.

Families share in Trojan pride and joy

Prior to the start of the ceremony, multigenerational families linked arms and snapped photos together outside of the stadium.

Pallavi Dashputre traveled from India to see her daughter, Nupur Dashputre, graduate with her master’s degree in computer science from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.

“She’s the first in our family to come to another country and to graduate from USC,” the mother said.

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The pair only saw each other once during the two years that Nupur Dashputre was studying for her degree. Commencement served as a deeply moving reunion for them both.

“I’m so excited, and I’m so emotional as well, because the two-year journey is coming to an end,” the daughter said. “It will be even better because my parents are here to witness me graduate.”

Edward Fast was feeling doubly proud on Thursday, as both of his sons graduated with degrees from USC Viterbi: Ethan Fast earned a bachelor’s degree and Craig Fast earned a master’s degree, both in computer science. Their sister, Elizabeth Fast, has just completed her second year at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

“It’s been awesome,” Craig Fast said of attending USC with his siblings. “After our classes, we get some food together at the dining halls, and we study together. I’ve grown up wanting to come here, been able to live out that dream and am finishing it off today. It has been a wonderful journey.”

Outside the stadium, USC Rossier School of Education student Tjaden Yanchar, graduating with a master’s degree, stood between his parents and took in the moment.

“It feels good because I have a family of Trojans,” said Yanchar, who also works in football operations and player development. “My grandma was a Trojan. My dad worked here for … over 20 years. This is adding on to that legacy of Trojans.”

His father, Jamie Yanchar, a former USC football assistant strength and conditioning coach, could barely speak when asked to share his feelings about his son graduating from USC.

“Oh, it’s awesome,” the elder Yanchar said. “It’s been his dream his whole life.”

The graduate’s mother, Stephanie Nevels-Yanchar, added: “He was born to be a Trojan. To actually stand here at the Coliseum and see him live out his dream is a dream come true for me and for my husband. It’s a full-circle moment.”

Student speaker finds out he is enough

Student commencement speaker Malique “Kash” Amos, a defensive lineman for the USC football team, mixed humor and personal history into his well-received address, during which he paid tribute to his fellow graduates for their discipline, resilience and perseverance.

“Faith is the reason I’m standing here today,” said Amos, a transfer student who grew up on Chicago’s South Side. “When I look back, I see God’s hand in places I didn’t understand at the time, shaping me through trials and tribulations that built who I am today.”

Amos said that there were days when he questioned if he was doing enough, if he was enough. He would sit in a quiet space after a long day wondering if the weight he felt was pressure or purpose.

“Judging by the faces, I wasn’t the only one,” the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism student said to his fellow Trojans. “That doubt didn’t disqualify us; it developed us.”

Amos, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship, pointed out to his fellow Trojans that they are graduating in a time of rapid change, when technology is rewriting industries and artificial intelligence is shifting how we work.

“The future feels fast, unpredictable, loud,” he said. “But here is what I know: This class was built in that environment. We learned to adapt, to collaborate across differences [and] to lead with empathy in uncertain moments. The world we are walking into is not stable, but we are steady.”

Maestro Dudamel on finding his place in the world

It was a busy night for Dudamel, who not only guest-conducted the band and gave the commencement address but also received an honorary Doctor of Music degree. National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt and National Book Award-winning writer Joyce Carol Oates also received honorary degrees.

Dudamel shared that from his earliest days as a young musician in Venezuela, he has believed in the power of music to bring people together. He said he hopes the young scholars before him will find ways to do the same.

“From this moment on, you will belong not only to a university, but to a broader community: a city, a country, an entire world stitched together by invisible threads,” he said. “You will be far more fulfilled and happy if the mark you leave on this world helps make it more livable, more beautiful, more equitable, just more harmonious.”

Dudamel shared the “opening movements” of his own story in which he grew up surrounded by music. A violin was placed in his hand at the age of 8, and “it was the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to me.”

“For the first time in my life, I felt that I belonged to something, that I was part of something,” he said. “I felt that I could have a place in the world.”

Because he has had the immense good fortune of making harmony his way of life, Dudamel said he is uniquely qualified to give some life advice to the scholars.

“Do not let anyone confuse you,” he said. “Do not allow anyone to divide you, to polarize you. No one. Our differences do not make us enemies; they are what allow us to create new things. Because we need many voices to have an orchestra.”