Felipe Martinez
In less than three months, Felipe Martinez, assistant director of the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund, met with 1,824 Los Angeles high school and community college students to dispel the myth that a USC education is unattainable.
"My job is to demystify the idea that USC is only for spoiled children; inner-city kids can go here too," Martinez says.
The Topping Scholarship, which is fully funded by the student body through an $8 annual fee per student, helps make a USC education attainable for 108 current students by paying most tuition expenses for the scholars. The scholarship is available to all new students (including transfers and graduate students) who demonstrate financial need and a dedication to improving their community.
As assistant director, Martinez's job is to both recruit students to apply for the Topping Scholarship and retain them once they come to USC. As the first person to attend college in his family, he says he understands how to help students overcome the barriers they face.
"Ninety percent of the Topping Scholars are the first in their family to go to college," Martinez says. "I'm here to help them transition from wherever they were before USC to the university environment. We try to shrink the larger university down to a smaller community."
"It is truly a privilege to have Felipe as part of the Topping Family," says Christina L. Yokoyama, director of the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund. "He continues to go above and beyond in his outreach efforts, promoting not only the USC Topping Scholarship but higher education in general. He is a positive role model and an inspiration for our scholars."
The students who receive the Topping Scholarship are part of a community created for them through retreats, tailgates, banquets and seminars, among other events. The scholarship — as well as the community — last through each student's tenure at USC. Martinez, a graduate of the Rossier School of Education's Post Secondary Administration of Student Affairs program in 2007, says his favorite part about his position is the students.
"It's always exciting to see what they're doing and what projects and programs they come up with," Martinez says. "I meet them before they enroll, and continue to talk to them and hear about all their plans. I see them grow both physically and emotionally."