Jasmine Torres ’14, Marco Valadez ’14, and Shamoya Washington ’14 April 9, 2014 –   USC President C. L. Max Nikias, USC Trustees, senior administrators and three USC students who are Cal Grant recipients made a recent visit to Sacramento to speak with California lawmakers. The USC delegates discussed the importance of the Cal Grant…

Erik (Estrada) Bezauri ’17, John Mendoza ’16, Kaijona “KJ” Wade ’17 October 31, 2013 –   Students in USC’s Norman Topping Student Aid Fund teamed up with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks Thursday afternoon to educated children about Halloween safety. Held at the Hoover Recreation Center,…

Tristan Baizar ’17 September 3, 2013 – Flush with excitement, Tristan Baizar showed up on his USC move-in day even before the official 8 a.m. check-in time. His mom and girlfriend helped him unpack. It was a quick process — from past camps and programs, the 18-year-old South Los Angeles resident knew how to move into USC’s dorms. Except this …

Jesse Ruiz ’12 Spring 2013 –   At an early age, Jonathan Ruiz ’02 became his family’s education pioneer — although he could hardly have known it at the time.Ruiz’s parents moved to Los Angeles from rural Mexico, and though they never had the chance to go to school, they knew the importance of education for their own children. “They …

Recipients of the Norman Topping scholarship in 2012 August 31, 2012 – To make sure they started the school year prepared, recipients of the Norman Topping scholarship gathered for the annual new scholar breakfast and all-scholar retreat. “Everyone in the Topping group is there to help one another,” said Natalie Parra, a freshman majoring in communication. “They’re a family that …

Topping Japan Summer Immersion Program 2012 Cohort – For the past few months, 13 students in USC Dornsife’s Japan Immersion Program have collected 300 American studies books from schools across campus. The students carried the books on a plane for Japan for their two-week Maymester trip sponsored by the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund. The books have arrived in Sendai …

Norman Topping Safe Halloween November 1, 2011 – USC organizations held trick-or-treating events Monday to provide families in the surrounding community with a safe environment to celebrate Halloween. According to a LivingSocial survey this week, one in five parents said their city is not safe for trick-or-treating and nearly two-thirds of parents…

Topping Japan Summer Immersion Program, 2010 Cohort November 1, 2010 – On the Tokyo subway trains passengers were packed in like Pringles. Each train typically had a designated “pusher” whose job was literally to shove people inside so the doors could shut. On the streets, people walked so closely behind, you could hear them breathe. “We were jam-packed, squeezed into …

Christina Yokoyama Topping Director September 8, 2010 – With 106 scholars in tow, the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund traveled to Palm Desert for its annual Topping Scholar Retreat in August. “The retreat is the event that the students look forward to every year,” said director Christina Yokoyama. “It establishes our community and sets the tone…

Topping Japan Summer Immersion Program 2010 Cohort June 16, 2010 – For the first time in USC College history, a transnational American Studies and Ethnicity (ASE) course is being conducted in Japan as well as in Los Angeles — and you’re officially invited to hitch a ride during their travels.Led by George Sanchez, professor of ASE and history, students, faculty …