🎓Congratulations to our 2024 graduates! Be sure to check the USC Dornsife commencement website often to keep up with the latest information.

In this issue, meet some exceptional USC Dornsife graduates, discover how a poor diet during adolescence may lead to long term memory issues and see what’s shaking with the latest earthquake hazard model.

Sibo “Carl” Zhou graduates from USC Dornsife with four bachelor’s degrees, a testament to his ambitious spirit and broad intellectual pursuits.

An international student from China, he pursued degrees in:

In his words: “I truly believe being well-rounded will help me adjust to whatever the future might hold,” says Zhou.

Having been unhoused during high school, USC Dornsife political science major Sophia Perez has dedicated herself to advocating for housing security.

When her father lost his job at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Perez’s family was forced to move into a single room at a relative’s house.

When Perez’s father died from cancer during her sophomore year, her passion for aiding the underserved increased.

In her words: “I did a lot of work in government services in L.A., and I really valued not only interacting with my community, but also giving back in a way that I really didn’t think I’d be able to while in college,” said Perez.

Single parent and U.S. Army vet Jaime Gomez, 43, left a successful, 16-year sales career to pursue his passion for history and teaching, earning his undergraduate degree with honors from USC Dornsife.

As a first-generation college student, Gomez never received college guidance from his family but ultimately achieved his lifelong dream of attending USC.

But he never forgot his passion for history, and in 2019, Gomez quit his job to enroll in community college, then transferred to USC Dornsife in 2022, majoring in history.

In his words: “Don’t let fear dictate your decisions. I encourage everyone to follow their academic dreams. There’s nothing like the experience I had at USC,” said Gomez.

New research suggests that a high-fat, sugary diet during adolescence could lead to long-lasting memory impairments.

Why it matters: According to the study, memory impairments induced by poor diet during adolescence persist into adulthood, even after switching to a healthier diet.

How it works: Diets high in sugars and fats disrupts the levels of acetylcholine in the brain.

Researchers tracked memory responses and acetylcholine levels in rats consuming a high-fat, sugary diet versus those on a healthier diet, using tasks designed to assess their recall of previously encountered objects.

In his words: “I don’t know how to say this without sounding like Cassandra and doom and gloom, but unfortunately, some things that may be more easily reversible during adulthood are less reversible when they are occurring during childhood,” says lead author Scott Kanoski, professor of biological sciences at USC Dornsife.

What to watch: Researchers discovered that drugs administered directly to the brain that induce the release of acetylcholine could reverse the memory impairments in rats, but more research is needed on this and to find other ways to reverse the memory problems.

A new, national earthquake hazard model is available, thanks in large part to USC Dornsife’s Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC).

Why it matters: Improved earthquake hazard assessment informs building codes and insurance rates, better equipping communities to prepare for seismic events.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Seismic Hazard Model helps engineers, policymakers and government agencies assess the risk of damage from earthquakes.

The model includes two main components:

USC Dornsife alumnus Kevin Milner was a SCEC researcher when he helped build the new model by developing earthquake rupture forecasts.

What’s next: Milner, now at the USGS, hopes to study earthquakes that begin in one fault and jump to another — the type that slammed Turkey and Syria in 2023 — and build models that account for the time elapsed since a previous event.

Applications are open for the 2024 APRU Student Global Climate Change Simulation, an online role-playing exercise in which undergraduate and graduate students form multi-country teams to portray U.N. Climate Change Negotiations delegates. For more information, visit the APRU’s website. Deadline to apply for the USC team is May 20.

The CEO of TRX, Randy Hetrick ’87, shares his founder’s story and how he leveraged his USC Dornsife history degree from USC Dornsife to build a global brand. 

Learn about Assignment: Earth and how it guides USC’s built environment and operations. USC students can earn LEED 1.0 continuing education credit for attending.

Listen to a discussion about fiction in Latin America with a 19th-century context with Jorge Myers from CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Quilmes.

Explore images from the Southern California Edison archive and discover how the archive helps us understand technology and changes in the urban landscape. 

Looking to visit the many theme parks and zoos in Southern California? The USC Ticket Office offers discounted tickets to students.