USC welcomes newest Trojans at Coliseum convocation

With the iconic Olympic torch of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum blazing overhead, USC on Thursday welcomed the newest members of the Trojan Family.

For the first time, USC held its annual fall new student convocation in the Coliseum, home to USC football for 100 years and the only U.S. venue to have hosted two Olympics. The venerable venue will feature events from its third Olympic Games four years from now — the same year members of the Class of 2028 in the crowd will receive their diplomas from USC.

“U.S. presidents, military heroes, performers, the world’s greatest athletes — including our legendary Trojan football team — have all graced this historic landmark,” USC President Carol Folt said. “Today, you’re entering a new phase of your life. Your years here are certainly going to change you, many times over.”

After greeting the new undergraduate and graduate students, along with their families and friends gathered in the stadium’s west end zone sections, Folt noted the many traditions represented at the Coliseum — from Olympic glory (USC’s success in Paris: 67 Trojans competing for 27 countries and earning 15 medals) to academic regalia, including the black robes worn by the new students.

The event was moved to the Coliseum to better accommodate the thousands of members of the Trojan Family who attend each year. The 9,200-plus crowd included faculty members, academic leaders, families and friends of the new Trojans, and the students themselves, representing 47 states and 69 countries. Nearly a quarter of the new Trojans are in the first generation in their families to attend college, a statistic that drew loud applause from the attendees.

Endless opportunities

As the morning sun shone, Folt spoke to the newest Trojans about the beginning of their journey at USC. She likened the experience to the Rubik’s Cube: Amid the toy’s recent resurgence in popularity, Folt compared the puzzle’s many solutions with the multifaceted USC experience.

“Your options really are limitless, and I’m confident you’re going to find your own path,” Folt said. “It’ll take patience, focus, you’ll get help, and it’ll take some turns of the cube.

“You’ll shuffle your Rubik’s Cube, do great work, and become meaningful role models,” she said, adding: “You’ll live big lives.”

She also reminded students to embrace the frustration they may encounter along the road and use those as teaching moments for success.

“We’re all works in progress,” Folt said. “We’re in the process of becoming — every moment of every day.”

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Folt highlighted the access to those thought leaders and creators on campus and within the Trojan network. Emmy, Oscar, Grammy and Tony award winners have walked the University Park Campus, as well as business leaders, groundbreaking researchers and life-saving medical professionals — and all of them reached those heights through connections and collaborations at USC.

“If you can’t find your passion here, you’re just not looking hard enough,” Folt said. “You’ve picked a great time to be here – magic is happening everywhere.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Vice Provost for the Arts Josh Kun, who advised students to lean into new experiences “where things are not so binary.”

“No matter your major, rely on the arts while you are here,” Kun said. “Let them guide you safely into conflicted and contestable spaces, so that you can reflect and feel and think, emboldened with juxtaposition and nuance, with both shadow and light.”

A convocation unlike any other

For some students, Thursday’s convocation was their first time in the Coliseum. Freshman Marlon John Pante of the Keck School of Medicine of USC — a native of Chicago — was dazzled by the torch lighting, which he called “really historic.”

“Knowing that the Coliseum is going to be one of the Olympic venues in 2028 and having the torch being lit was just really awe-inspiring, especially for someone from the Midwest,” Pante said.

For others, it was a homecoming.

“I saw the [Los Angeles] Rams play here when they first came back, and it was really exciting to be in this space again,” said Drew Williams, whose son Xander is among the new students. “It was great to see all of the students walking in, and I think this was a nice way to start the year.”

For still others, the occasion was made more special by who was in attendance. Freshman Nishitha Pammidimukkala of the USC Marshall School of Business, from Virginia, described convocation as “a nice way to start things off,” but she said what made the week more special was the presence of her grandfather, Prasad Tammineedi, who traveled from India to be with his granddaughter.

“Nishitha lived in India with him for a year and a half when she was young,” said Nishitha’s mother, Sirisha Tammineedi. “They are very attached, and he feels really proud about her getting into USC.”

Finding your community

The students in attendance heard from some of their own as well, as both the undergraduate and graduate student government presidents urged the members of the Class of 2028 to step out of their comfort zones and jump into every group and organization they can.

“In my search for friends, I found that everyone was looking for the same thing: a solid community — what we call here a Trojan Family,” said Shahd Bawarith, president of the USC Graduate Student Government.

A doctoral student in biomedical engineering at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Bawarith encouraged her fellow Trojans to embrace other viewpoints, and most importantly, to listen.

“You’d be surprised how much the simple act of listening can expand your views of the world and help build solid connections,” she said.

Bryan Fernandez, president of the USC Undergraduate Student Government, related to where the newest Trojans are at in their journey. Two years ago, he was a new student on campus, struggling to find his place. But Fernandez — a junior at the USC Price School of Public Policy — said that his initial insecurity subsided as he began to find his “people.”

“When you look around today, acknowledge that you are among some of the brightest students in the country, including yourself,” Fernandez said. “You are not here by chance — there is no randomness in being admitted to USC. You truly belong here.”