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The USC Student Alumni Society puts on a great weekend of events every spring called SCuppers. Any student can sign up to attend a free dinner with a few prestigious alumni. My best friend Jess works with the alumni association to coordinate over 60 dinner events with 180 alumni and nearly 800 students. SCuppers is a cool opportunity for students to sit down with successful alumni and connect over some good food Some alumni host these events at their homes or at restaurants around LA. Tonight my roommate and I went to one and I wanted to share my experience!
Our dinner was hosted at Morton Fig (which is on campus) and there were roughly 12 students and 3 alumni. All 3 alumni are on the USC Board of Governors. Annie Occhipinti was the host and travels the world representing USC. Another man, whose name I forget, met his wife on freshmen move in day in 1981. After 5 years of being "friend zoned" by her, they got married and their son is now a 3rd generation Trojan. He worked at a large investment banking firm for 25 years and started his own investment company this year. He left us with one piece of advise, "Don't get stuck." Don't get stuck in jobs you hate, in relationship that suck, in cities that don't feel like home.
I was really struck by the last alumni's story. llir Lita's parents escaped communist Albania and came to the US with nothing. His parents had an arranged marriage and 6 kids in the span of 8 years. They lived 20 minutes outside of New York City with no electricity. He didn't sleep in a bed until he was 11 years old and his father died when Ilir was 15. Although uneducated, his mom knew that Ilir's only way out of poverty was through education. Unable to pay for his college applications, his high school counselor found him some grants. He ended up applying to USC and received a full ride. Ilir took his first plane to California for college, and graduated in 2002. He worked for large companies, like DreamWorks and Google, for roughly 15 years. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to give back and now works in LA City Hall, improving LA's public education and homelessness issues.
Take advantage of this cool opportunity to network with alumni. If you are free 02/24 or 02/25 and want a free dinner with good company, sign up! There are still plenty of spots: http://fightonline.usc.edu/s/657/alumni/16/interior.aspx?sid=657&pgid=2182&gid=5&cid=3964&ecid=3964&post_id=0
Our dinner was hosted at Morton Fig (which is on campus) and there were roughly 12 students and 3 alumni. All 3 alumni are on the USC Board of Governors. Annie Occhipinti was the host and travels the world representing USC. Another man, whose name I forget, met his wife on freshmen move in day in 1981. After 5 years of being "friend zoned" by her, they got married and their son is now a 3rd generation Trojan. He worked at a large investment banking firm for 25 years and started his own investment company this year. He left us with one piece of advise, "Don't get stuck." Don't get stuck in jobs you hate, in relationship that suck, in cities that don't feel like home.
I was really struck by the last alumni's story. llir Lita's parents escaped communist Albania and came to the US with nothing. His parents had an arranged marriage and 6 kids in the span of 8 years. They lived 20 minutes outside of New York City with no electricity. He didn't sleep in a bed until he was 11 years old and his father died when Ilir was 15. Although uneducated, his mom knew that Ilir's only way out of poverty was through education. Unable to pay for his college applications, his high school counselor found him some grants. He ended up applying to USC and received a full ride. Ilir took his first plane to California for college, and graduated in 2002. He worked for large companies, like DreamWorks and Google, for roughly 15 years. A few years ago, he decided he wanted to give back and now works in LA City Hall, improving LA's public education and homelessness issues.
Take advantage of this cool opportunity to network with alumni. If you are free 02/24 or 02/25 and want a free dinner with good company, sign up! There are still plenty of spots: http://fightonline.usc.edu/s/657/alumni/16/interior.aspx?sid=657&pgid=2182&gid=5&cid=3964&ecid=3964&post_id=0
Hi Kelly, thank you for sharing this post. Hope to interact with you more in the class.
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, I enjoyed reading your post. I didn't know that our Alumni Associations have such great events.
ReplyDeleteKelly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this amazing experience. Hearing about these three alumni's life stories was definitely encouraging and really puts things into perspective
Hi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI was at the SCupper Dinner last Saturday. I enjoyed my time with peers and the alumnus, who gave us so much on work, life advice, and giving back to the communities.
Hey Kelly,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing about SCuppers, it sounds like an incredible opportunity! I enjoyed reading about Mr. Lita's story. It truly touches my heart to hear about people overcoming hardships and then giving back to the community in need. I think he sounds like a remarkable individual, and I am so glad you got the chance to meet him.
Hi Kelly,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your experience attending the SCupper and the link! It sounds amazing to meet people like Ilir Lita, and the story of the Trojan couple is really sweet.