Many Trojans have been affected by the recent wildfires. If you are in need of assistance, applications for aid are open. And if you would like to help your fellow Trojans during this difficult time, visit the Trojan Family L.A. Wildfire Relief Fund website. 

In this issue, discover how USC Dornsife’s LABarometer helps improve the lives of L.A. residents, learn how World War II food rationing enabled researchers to study sugar’s long-term health effects and meet the history alumnus behind a successful fitness empire.

USC Dornsife’s LABarometer survey recently marked its fifth anniversary, revealing insights into how Los Angeles County residents experience life.

Why it matters: LABarometer provides a rare window into the challenges and opportunities facing one of the most diverse counties in the U.S.

What’s new: The LABarometer team has expanded its scope, diving deeper into residents’ financial well-being and sustainability concerns.

By the numbers: Recent findings highlight key struggles for county residents.

How they do it: LABarometer uses a panel of over 1,800 residents to track changes in attitudes and behaviors over time, ensuring L.A.’s diverse population is appropriately represented.

What to watch: As the county faces mounting challenges, LABarometer’s findings could shape future policies addressing these issues.

The bottom line: LABarometer doesn’t just collect data — it gives L.A. residents a voice, turning their experiences into actionable insights.

A surprising legacy of World War II sugar rationing reveals how early-life nutrition shapes long-term health. USC Dornsife researchers found that restricting sugar during pregnancy and infancy significantly reduced risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension in adulthood.

Why it matters: Chronic diseases significantly shorten life expectancy and increase health care costs.

The big picture: During WWII, the United Kingdom limited sugar to 8 teaspoons per day while the rest of their diet did not change much.

How they did it: Researchers, led by Tadeja Gracner at USC Dornsife’s Center for Economic and Social Research compared health records of people born just before and after sugar rationing ended.

What they found: Sugar restrictions during the first 1,000 days of life substantially reduced the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood.

Alumnus Randy Hetrick, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, drew on his USC Dornsife history degree and military experience to become an entrepreneur, inventing the TRX Suspension Trainer and launching a fitness empire.

Why it matters: Hetrick’s story proves that, even when faced with a daunting challenge, resilience, determination and a rich educational experience can lead to success.

While at USC, Hetrick embraced a wide range of opportunities, benefiting from mentorship by President Emeritus John Hubbard and forging lifelong Trojan connections.

SEAL training included the infamous “Hell Week,” which Hetrick describes as a week of round-the-clock torture.

The idea for TRX Suspension Trainers came to Hetrick while he was deployed on a counter-piracy operation in Southeast Asia, where soldiers lacked access to fitness equipment.

In his words: “I don’t really believe in failure. I obviously understand it because throughout my career I have undershot my goals many times. But I have never viewed that as failure. It’s all part of this process of trial and error, improvement and retrial,” Hetrick says.

Go deeper: Hetrick shared his life and career path in USC Dornsife Magazine.

14% 🙌 They’re great! I make them every year.

14% 🤷 I don’t care for them personally.

29% 🗓️ Why wait for New Year’s? Goal setting is good year round.

43% 👍 They’re fun, but I don’t take them too seriously.

Limiting sugar during pregnancy and during a child’s first two years could significantly cut the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases later in life, according to research by USC Dornsife’s Tadeja Gracner.

Join Danzy Senna, professor of English and best-selling author, as she discusses her literary journey, central themes in her work — including mixed-race identity — and more.

This year’s theme is “The Trumping of America: Why and What’s Next?” Explore America’s evolving political landscape with top experts from politics, government, media and academia.

Join a university-wide commemoration of the 2025 Day of Remembrance with a presentation of Defining Courage, an innovative experience sharing stories of WWII American soldiers of Japanese ancestry.

Sign-up to receive NewsRound, a weekly listing of news stories featuring USC Dornsife scholars.

“Part of the rebuilding task must include marking and remembering, trying to retie threads that connect us to history and place.”

The Los Angeles Times published an op-ed by William Deverell of history, spatial sciences and environmental studies titled “Opinion: Southern California’s past can play a role in rebuilding for the future.”

“The storm that caused those debris flows dumped an enormous amount of rainfall right over the Montecito area.”

The Guardian quoted Josh West of Earth sciences and environmental studies for the article “These are the hazards Californians face after fires – and what homeowners can do to protect themselves.”

“Every decision that we make from here on forward has to be proactive.”

The Los Angeles Times spoke with Kelly Sanders of spatial sciences for their climate change podcast, Boiling Point.

Whether it is increasing your productivity or honing your leadership skills, Skill Up provides self-paced online professional advancement courses. The courses are created and taught by USC faculty and are available for free to USC faculty and staff.