USC alumna Autumn Lauderdale-Mora, left, and her family still cannot stay in their Aldadena home because of smoke damage from the Eaton Fire. (USC Photo/Stephen Gee)
Alumni event brings together Trojan Family months after the L.A. wildfires
STORY AND VIDEO: A USC Alumni Association lunchtime gathering provides replacements for burned diplomas, USC swag and connection for Trojans affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
The second week of January this year changed the lives of many members of the Trojan Family who survived the Palisades and Eaton wildfires. Months later, many are trying to catch their breath. They have spent countless hours talking with insurers and working on remediation, finding another place to live, or planning to rebuild.
The USC Alumni Association provided the fire victims with a much-needed break and an opportunity to reconnect with the Trojan Family at a special luncheon event specifically for them. The Alumni Association helped some of them replace degrees that had burned in the fires, as well as hosted food trucks for lunch and ice cream, and offered opportunities to win new swag either by spinning a wheel for prizes or through a raffle.
Cassie Kam, a 1996 alumna of the USC Leventhal School of Accounting, said she and her husband, Joel Kam, lost all they had owned — two houses, including their daughter’s, and everything in them. Among the ruins were 30 years’ worth of Trojan gear, said Kam, who met her husband while studying at USC.
The alumni event was an opportunity for her and her husband to win some new USC gear, but more importantly, she said, it was nice to know that the Trojan Family has her back.
“Emotionally, it is good to know that USC gives us strength and community,” said Kam, who was among more than 100 alumni and their families who attended the June 14 event.
USC and the L.A. wildfires: A rapid response
Erika Jordan, head of the USC Alumni Association, said that alumni and the association Board of Governors immediately stepped up to assist members of the organization who lost their homes and belongings after the fires burned the Los Angeles area. They raised funds both in the aftermath and during the Alumni Day of SCervice in March.
The Trojan Family has helped in many ways since the fires hit. In January, USC President Carol Folt launched the Trojan Family L.A. Wildfire Relief Fund effort. The USC community rallied together behind it and provided support, including donations for relief grants and assistance with basic needs, that have helped hundreds of students, faculty and staff whose lives were upended by the fires.
Having survived such a tragedy of scale, some of the survivors have become even more connected to each other within the Alumni Association itself, Jordan said. They also are helping the board find new ways to help families navigate fire recovery.
“They just need resources,” Jordan said.
In January and February, board members agreed that the victims’ initial needs were so urgent —financial help, a new temporary or permanent home, assistance finding and replacing lost items — that the association could not fathom hosting an event amid the chaos, Jordan said. Board members agreed to instead host an event months later. June arrived, and the timing seemed right.
“Really, this is just a day of community,” Jordan said as she watched families gather at Pardee Lawn next to the Widney Alumni House on the USC University Park Campus.
‘Trojans don’t give up’
Beong-Soo Kim, senior vice president and general counsel who will soon serve as USC’s interim president, reflected on the families’ shared connections as Trojans and their shared experience of surviving the fires.
“People talk all the time about the Trojan Family. It’s really what makes USC so special,” Kim said. “Trojans don’t give up. They have faith. They have courage. It is a group that really cares about each other.”
For G. Anthony Watson, who graduated from USC Bovard College last year, the event was a welcome moment to reconnect with the Trojan Family.
Watson, a USC ITS audiovisual engineer, successfully fended off the fire and saved his family’s Altadena home with a garden hose. He was able to return to his home with his family, but the reminders of the fire surround them. His house is among a small number that remain standing.
Watson, who has worked for USC more than a decade, welcomed the opportunity to bring his family to an alumni event for a change of pace.
“It’s a good event to have now,” Watson said while he sat with his two young daughters as they enjoyed eating small cups of ice cream. “It’s a sign that we’re moving forward.”
