Trojan Candy arrived at The Lab Gastropub right at 4:00 p.m. for the Women of Troy Sand Volleyball Kickoff. The festivities had already started. Everyone was given a multi-colored lei to wear. As soon as I put my things down, I went to take pictures and get interviews.
The first friends I saw were Paige Hines (1/31/2014) and Sara Hughes (1/31/2014). Trojan Candy met the two roommates when they were Freshmen. Sara sold me some raffle tickets. FIGHT ON, Paige! FIGHT ON, Sara!
Next I saw Junior Sand Volleyball player Sophie Bukovec (3/5/2015) sitting with four Women of Troy Volleyball players. Sophie Bukovec, Jordan Dunn, Alicia Ogoms (11/29/2015), Tatum Harvey, and Niki Withers. FIGHT ON, Sophie! FIGHT ON, Jordan! FIGHT ON, Alicia! FIGHT ON, Tatum! FIGHT ON, Niki!
Now, I went to meet as many Sand Volleyball players as I could. I met three new players first and was able to interview each one. On the left is Terese Cannon. She is a Sophomore who transferred from Georgetown. Her partner is Freshman Katrina Kernochan (not pictured). Rebecca (Becca) Dunn is a Freshman from Orange County. She likes to go to the beach and to swim in the ocean. Rebecca told me that her partner is Emily Young (not pictured). On the right is Jo Kremer who is a Sophomore majoring in Communication. She, like Rebecca, likes to go to the beach and to swim in the ocean. It's no wonder that Rebecca and Jo like to play beach volleyball! FIGHT ON, Terese! FIGHT ON, Rebecca! FIGHT ON, Jo!
Jo took me to meet her new partner, Zoe Nightingale. The partners posed for this picture. Zoe is a graduate student who transferred from UCLA to USC. She is majoring in Public Relations in the Annenberg School. Her undergrad major was Sociology. Zoe said that she transferred to USC because of the Annenberg School. Beach Volleyball came second. Zoe's a Trojan now! FIGHT ON, Zoe!
Trojan Candy took this picture of Becca Dunn's partner, graduate student Emily Young. FIGHT ON, Emily!
Nearby, I met Freshman Pearl Keane, who is from Miami. Pearl played indoor volleyball in high school. She started playing beach volleyball when she was in the seventh grade. 
Pearl is majoring in International Relations and Global Business. She likes to ride her skate board and perform gymnastics. FIGHT ON, Pearl!
After I left Pearl, Trojan Candy walked back to the booth where I left my bag. Sitting there was Alexa Strange and her mom Tara. I had spoken with Tara earlier.
Now it was time to interview Alexa. Alexa played indoor volleyball at Nebraska for one year and transferred to USC. 
She is a Senior majoring in Political Science. Alexa loves to sew, surf and read. Her favorite book is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Marques. She also likes to read Hemingway books. Alexa loves to eat popsickles and rainbow sherbet. Her favorite musician is Jimi Hendrix, and her favorite movie is "Pulp Fiction." After graduation, Alexa wants to play beach volleyball professionally and travel to Asia and Europe. Alexa has two brothers. Her older brother played football at Harvard. Her younger brother is a "lefty" who plays the position of Opposite in volleyball at San Clemente High School. Better yet, he will be attending USC next year! Another Trojan Family! FIGHT ON, Alexa!
After I left Alexa, Trojan Candy walked to the entrance. There, I saw a very familiar face walking towards me. Friend Natasa Siljkovic (9/2/2010) gave me a big hug. I first interviewed Natasa in 2010. She competed in volleyball at USC. After graduating in 2014, Natasa spent one year in Romania and then in France studying French. Now she has returned to USC to do graduate work in International Relations. She is working in Public Diplomacy, Communications and Public Relations for foreign countries. Unfortunately, Natasa can't play volleyball competitively anymore because of an injury. She stays in shape with yoga and spin class. Coach Anna Collier has hired Natasa to work in fund raising, event planning and marketing. FIGHT ON, Natasa!
After visiting with Natasa, Trojan Candy turned to my right and saw four Sophomore Sand Volleyball players. They posed for the next picture.
To my surprise, a young man tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I remembered him. I recognized his face and knew that he was a USC football player. He told me he was Jesse and that he is back at USC working on his Master's Degree. Finally, I thought of his last name, Scroggins (10/18/2010) Then, good friend Bria Russ (3/23/2012) came up to him and gave him a hug. Bria, who competed in Volleyball and Sand Volleyball, just graduated last year. She and Jesse make a very cute couple! FIGHT ON, Jesse! FIGHT ON, Bria!
After a short pep rally, the Sand Volleyball Team, the Spirit of Troy, the Cheer Team and Song Girls marched across the street to the Merle Norman Stadium for the Cardinal and Gold Alumni Match.
As Trojan Candy was leaving, I saw friend Hayley Crone (4/16/2015). Hayley is a USC Volleyball Alumna. Good night and FIGHT ON, Hayley!
Trojan Candy arrived early enough to the Founder's Room of Galen Center to hear Coach Enfield talk about our upcoming game against Oregon State. After his talk, Coach Enfield mentioned that there were USC Basketball Alumni "in the house" and pointed to two men at the bar. Naturally, I walked right over to the two former USC players, introduced myself, gave them my Trojan Candy card and took their picture. Yamen Sanders, who majored in Public Administration, played center in 1992. His coach was George Raveling. To Yamen's left was Dwayne Hackett, who was a shooting guard in 1993. His coach was also George Raveling, and Dwayne majored in Sociology. FIGHT ON, Yamen! FIGHT ON, Dwayne!
I decided to walk out to the patio to find more men's basketball alumni. On the way there, a gentleman walked up to me and gave me a big hug. It was Jacque Hill! Jacque played guard in 1979-1983, and his coach was Stan Morrison. He was a three year captain and majored in Public Administration. Jacque now works in Real Estate Investment and coaches in the Boy's and Girl's Club. Jacque's children are both Trojans. They both majored in music at USC. Another Trojan Family! Unbelievably I forgot to take Jacque's picture, but CLICK HERE to see a picture I took of Jacque in 2011. FIGHT ON, Jacque!
Next, Trojan Candy walked out to the patio, hoping to find more Basketball Alumni, but I didn't recognize anyone. So, I decided to leave and go to my seat in the arena. As I walked by the bar to exit, I saw a very familiar face. It was friend David Blu (10/28/2012). David thanked me for the picture I took of his son Baron. Then he introduced me to his best friend and teammate, Tyler Murphy. Tyler majored in Communication and played point guard on the team. He is working in Real Estate Development now. David told me that he and Tyler play basketball together every week at the L.A. Athletic Club. Friends and Trojans for life! They posed with Jeff McMillan. FIGHT ON, Tyler! FIGHT ON, David! FIGHT ON, Jeff!
Nearby, I saw Basketball Alumnus Clayton Olivier with a friend. They posed for this picture. Then, Clayton asked me if I had taken pictures of the other Basketball Alumni on the patio. I told him that I had tried, but I didn't know any of them. So, Clayton said that he would take me outside to meet them.
Clayton had his friends pose for this picture. Pictured first left to right was Clayton. Thank you and FIGHT ON, Clayton! Next to Clayton was Chuck Grosenbaugh. Chuck played Forward-Center, majored in Finance and graduated in 1964. FIGHT ON, Chuck! Allen Young played Forward in 1961-65. He majored in Business. FIGHT ON, Allen! Seated in the black jacket was John Block. John Block played Forward-Center in 1962-66. He majored in Physical Education. FIGHT ON, John! Standing in the USC jacket was a player that I interviewed but forgot to write down his name! He told me that he attended Troy H.S. and majored in Biology. He taught in Fullerton for thirty-nine years. My fellow teacher, please send me your name! The lady in the picture was Shelby Jordan and she is a Trojan also. FIGHT ON, Shelby! Next to Shelby was Gary Sutherland. Gary played baseball and basketball at USC in 1962-63. FIGHT ON, Gary! The last USC Basketball alumnus was Bill Morris. Bill played in 1962-64 and majored in Business. FIGHT ON, Bill!
Trojan Candy was just about to leave the patio, when a gentleman tapped me on my shoulder. He asked me, "Are you the (USC) photographer?" I smiled, held up my camera for him to see, gave him my Trojan Candy card and asked him to pose. Then, two of his teammates joined him. From left to right: First was Harvey Dillon who majored in Business and works now in Personal Management. Harvey was a Guard. FIGHT ON, Harvey! Bob Osbrink also was a Guard. Bob majored in Business and worked in Marketing. FIGHT ON, Bob! Last was Mack Calvin who played Point Guard in 1967-69. He was the captain for the 1969 team. Mack majored in Sociology. FIGHT ON, Mack! All three of these basketball players are my contemporaries! Trojan Candy had a class with Harvey! We shared some memories! Their Coach Bob Boyd was an outstanding coach. FIGHT ON FOREVER, Bob!
Now, I finally did leave the Galen Center Founder Room and walked to my seat. It was almost game time.
Our team had a sizzling first half and beat Oregon State 81-70.
FIGHT ON, USC Men's Basketball!