Half Century Trojans (9) Candygrams

Wednesday, February 3, 2021---Half Century Trojans Virtual Going Back to College Day

The Half Century Trojans "Going Back to College Day" was virtual this year. Our program began with our Alma Mater performed by our Spirit of Troy. Beautiful!

Our host Patrick Auerbach welcomed all of the Half Century Trojans in attendance. Next, he thanked the USC Health Faculty and Staff who have shown courage, flexibility, and resilience in dealing with all the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bragging, Patrick informed us that in the 2020-2021 University Magazine's ranking of the "Best California Colleges," USC was ranked third, while the school across town was ranked fifth. What great news, Patrick! Then, he told us that 60,000 students applied for admittance to USC for the 2021-2022 academic year. USC accepted 9,535 for admission. That is an "under 16% acceptance rate." Patrick said the USC has 437,000 Alumni around the world. Let's all continue to keep FIGHTING ON!

Patrick introduced our HCT President Janet Tonkovich. Janet said that she is a proud member of the Class of 1964, and it is an honor to serve as President of the Half Century Trojan Board. It's been an honor to celebrate USC and our Trojan Family. Then Janet spoke about learning. "One of the keys is staying curious and wanting to learn new things. I love to learn about our current advances at USC. Now it is my honor to introduce our current President, Dr. Carol Folt."

Dr. Folt welcomed everyone and told us that she loves to come to our annual "Going Back to College Day." Here are a few of our "USC Highlights." "That year 2020 changed so much for all of us. It has been a challenge but also in a lot of ways it opened up a lot of opportunities. It has been inspiring in some ways. Everyone has had to learn a new way of doing things. I just spoke with the Faculty. They told me that they actually learned things that are going to improve their teaching forever." Dr. Folt continued to say, "Internet life has actually allowed us to stay in touch with one another and with the wider USC Community in ways we were not able to do before. Events hit 2,000 to 3,000 online people! We used to be happy when 150 people would attend an on campus presentation. There are lessons to be learned." Then, President Folt talked about our Keck campus. She said, "Our medical workers on the Keck campus have been spending countless hours on the front lines. They are true heroes! Our "Care for Caregiver's Program" gave free housing, meals, and medical health care for USC medical and emergency workers. Fifty thousand nights were provided for these workers. Over one hundred USC students tutored online the children of our medical workers."

Next, Patrick Auerbach started questions for Dr. Folt. Trojan Candy picked one question that Dr. Folt answered. The question was asked by our own HCT History Committee chairman Bob Padgett. Bob has also been the President of the Alumni Association and a USC Trustee. His question was, "What about in person experience at the Coliseum this fall?" Dr. Folt replied, "I think there will be some crowds in the Coliseum. I want to be back with all of you rooting us to victory." Let's hope that Dr. Folt's prediction will come true!

Now, Dr. Scott Spencer introduced the SoundMind app that was founded by USC students Brian Femminella and Travis Chen.

Brian and Travis recognized the problem that many people have experienced stress from some form of trauma and most do not receive any effective treatment.

The SoundMind mobile app was created to provide personalized relief for trauma victims using music therapy.

The next student Lucy Schafer explained that SoundMind is based on thanatosonics, which is the relationship between sound, violence, and human relationships. It uses neuroplasticity which is a change on the molecular and cellular level that allows music to alter neurological wiring and association in the brain.

In conclusion, Lucy stated that the research team at SoundMind uses the findings of neurobiology to provide the three therapy tools in the app. The goal is to provide trauma-informed care.

Co-Founder and COO Travis Chen showed that SoundMind has been featured in several media.

Travis said that more than half the twelve team members were Trojans. He talked about their entrepreneurship journey.

After Travis showed a video of their app, he showed the SoundMind contacts page.

After a Q&A session, the SoundMind speakers said, "Fight On!"

Then Dr. Caroline Cicero presented the first class of the day.

Dr. Cicero is an Associate Professor of Gerontology in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She is the Director of USC's Age-Friendly University Initiative. Her class is "Aging Populations and Urban Housing of the Future."

Dr. Cicero said that Los Angeles added "Emergency Preparedness and Resilience" to the 8 Domains of Livable Communities.

She is concerned about the 65+ residents who were living alone or with disabilities in the City of Los Angeles in 2015.

What are the Issues in Age-Friendly Housing in the past and future?

One in five Americans live in multigenerational households.

What was your ideal housing during the Pandemic?

Creative activities can help us flourish.

Here are some creative activities. At the upper right is a picture of Dr. Cicero sketched in 2019 by Miller Fong (lower right) in a talk she gave.

This slide showed more of Miller Fong's artwork done on an iPad.

Trojan Candy met Miller in 2016 at the David X. Marks Tennis Stadium Renovation Dedication. Click on his picture to read my interview of Miller.

Miller drew a caricature of me a few years ago when we sat at the same banquet table. Thank you again, Miller!

During the lunch break, a slideshow of undergraduate personal pictures from Half Century Trojan Board members was shown several times for the audience to view. Below are the pictures. Trojan Candy sent in the first four pictures shown here.

Amazon intiation.

1966 Troy Week.

1968 SoCal Card Stunt.

1967 Rose Bowl ticket stub.

Janet Tonkovich as Queen for the Day.

55th Rose Bowl Game ticket in 1969.

Traveler.

University life.

Song Fest.

Bicycle riders.

Social.

Mike Garrett.

Students sitting at Tommy Trojan.

Song Girls.

Conversation.

Thank You Half Century Trojans Executive Board.

Thank You Board of Directors.

After the lunch break, Dr. Erroll Southers, who is a Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security and the Director of the Safe Communities Institute (SCI) and Homegrown Violent Extremism Studies at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, presented the afternoon class.

Safe Communities Institute was formerly Delinquency Control Institute or DCI.

DCI was formed after the "Zoot Suit" riots. It was a USC educational program for improving law enforcement.

The core of Safe Communities Institute is violence prevention for public safety.

Professor Southers testified in the only hearing on the Boston Marathon bombing. It was entitled "The Boston Marathon Bombings: A First Look." The Boston Marathon bombing is a game changer. The individuals waited ten years before they became operational. As a result, we had to take a different look at "soft targets."

Data showed that black and brown Angelenos were stopped in south LA 3-4 times more than any place else in LA. However, calls for police service was also higher.

USC got a grant to study how a school could be designed in response to an active shooter. Two articles have been published from this study.

When the pandemic started, there was an uptick in violence against Asians and Jews. #VirusofHate tracks hate crimes targeting Jews and Asians as being the source of COVID-19. The crimes occur mostly in pharmacies, public spaces and large retail places.

The Law Enforcement Work Inquiry System (LEWIS) Registry is a national database of fired police officers. Professor Southers emphasized that this necessary registry is supported by Democrats and Republicans.

SCI is sponsored by the U.S. State Department. The International Visitors Leadership Program brings colleagues to USC to discuss how they handle extremism and violence. Professor Southers travels around the world delivering speeches.

After Professor Southers finished his presentation, Half Century Trojans Board Members were introduced. Last year's HCT President Bob Frinier introduced the 2021-2022 Half Century Trojans Executive Board.

Next, our HCT Scholarship Co-Chairs Hugh Helm

and Sara Jane Bettge introduced our seven Senior Scholarship students. Come meet them.

Erica Noll from Manhattan Beach majored in Philosophy, Politics and Law. She minored in English Literature and Spanish. She studied abroad and would like to return to South America in her service year. FIGHT ON, Erica!

Caitlin Kreditor from Laguna Beach majored in Business Administration and minored in Dance. After she graduates, Caitlin would love to work on the business side of the cosmetic industry in either marketing or merchandising. Thirteen of Caitlin's relatives attended USC! FIGHT ON, Caitlin!

Grace Fogel from Yucaipa is majoring in Accounting. She is a third generation Trojan, who learned the Trojan traditions from her grandfather and mother. Grace was the President of Teach for Los Angeles, which is an on-campus K-12 tutoring organization that provides services to students in the local community. FIGHT ON, Grace!

Justin Kawaguchi from Thousand Oaks majored in Global Health and minored in Public Relations and Consumer Behavior. He was a member of the Volunteer Leadership Council, volunteered with Visions & Voices and was an active member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity. Justin's grandfather is a Trojan Family member. FIGHT ON, Justin!

Nick Basch from Scottsdale, Arizona, majored in Business Administration and minored in Economics. His little sister, a sophomore, is majoring in Cognitive Science at USC. His maternal Grandfather graduated from USC in 1955 in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation Nick will work as an Investment Analyst in Texas. FIGHT ON, Nick!

Valerie Narumi from Yorba Linda majored in Neuroscience and minored in piano. She will earn her M.S. in Pathology in 2023. In her passion for helping others, Valerie creates medicinal music for patients and staff at Keck. Her parents and paternal grandparent are Trojan Family members. FIGHT ON, Valerie!

Marissa Anderson from Torrance majored in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and will concurrently earn her M.S. in Global Health. She is living at Trojan Shelter which is a non-profit that provides housing to homeless USC students. Her grandparents are Trojan Family members. FIGHT ON, Marissa!

We are so proud of our Senior Scholars!

The Spirit of Troy ended with Conquest!

What an exciting HCT Going Back to College Day! Trojan Candy can't wait until next year's edition!

Saturday, January 23, 2021---HCT History Committee USC Presidents Biographies

Half Century Trojan History Committee Chair Bob Padgett decided to have his committee members research USC Presidents and present their essays at the Board meetings.

Bob Padgett, Class of '67, presented his essay about President Rufus B. von Kleinsmid at our HCT Board meeting on October 16, 2020. Click on the thumbnail of the essay's title to read Bob's von Kleinsmid's essay.

Our second History Committee essay was presented by Bob Lutz, Class of '68, at our HCT Board meeting on November 11, 2020. Dr. Norman Topping was Bob's USC President. Click on the thumbnail of the essay's title to read Bob's Topping essay.

Our third History Committee USC Presidents presentation was provided by Paul Alwine, Class of '62, at our HCT Board meeting on January 13, 2021. President Fred Fagg was Paul's USC President. Click on the thumbnail of the essay's title to read Paul's Fagg essay.

Trojan Candy also serves on the HCT History Committee. I am amazed at all the time and the research that went into these three presentations.

Good job and KEEP FIGHTING ON, Bob Padgett! Bob Lutz! and Paul Alwine!