[ Editor’s Note ] The Class of ’08
| It’s tempting to call this issue our “student issue,” and a look through its pages should show you why. The undergraduate class of 2008, some 4,800 strong, has its share of inspirational stories. You can read about Jeffrey Davenport, who completed a double major as well as four years with the Trojan Marching Band despite seven orthopedic surgeries to deal with cerebral palsy; or DeDe Okonkwo, a first-generation U.S.-born child of Nigerian parents who was USC’s youngest graduating senior at 17 and started her own dance studio near her family’s home at age 16; or valedictorian Julianne Yulan Gale, who calls herself “an American-Chinese Jew, a lifelong learning teacher” who majored in computer science/engineering and minored in theatre and is currently working on a master of arts in teaching from the USC Rossier School of Education. She was one of 10 students who received $10,000 Renaissance Scholar prizes recognizing excellence in two or more widely divergent fields of study.
The Renaissance Scholars were joined this year by two similar programs, Global Scholars and Discovery Scholars. These programs also carry $10,000 prizes – for use in graduate study – and recognize students who have spent significant time in international study or who have produced exceptional scholarship or creative work while at USC. You can read more about these special programs, and the special students who take advantage of them. There’s more: This year 16 students – a USC record – received Fulbright grants for study and research abroad; and the Class of ’08 voted overwhelmingly to fund a study alcove in the new Tutor Campus Center as its senior class gift – and then proceeded to raise some $15,000, more than twice the amount of any previous class gift, to make it a reality. And, as a final note, we can’t help saluting Mic Patterson ’08, age 59, a successful businessman who decided to return to school to study sustainability in the School of Architecture. As with most of the other beaming graduates, his parents (ages 87 and 80) looked on proudly as he got his degree. You can read more about him. All in all, an auspicious group to send out into the world. – Susan Heitman
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