Last Friday, I competed in the annual USC Global Health Case Competition with some friends. For the competition, we were provided with a global health challenge and given two weeks to research and propose a hypothetical solution to address this challenge, which we would present at the competition on Friday. I honestly entered the competition on a whim—I thought it would be a cool experience but, as an engineering student with absolutely no global health experience, I had no idea what to expect or what it would entail. Over the two weeks of the competition, I learned an insane amount about global health policy and the challenges faced by the specific country we chose to research (Nigeria). It was such a rewarding experience and made me realize that I really like learning about global health issues and how to better address them. Although we didn’t end up winning the competition, I came out of it with a deep knowledge of something I had previously known nothing about, as well as a better idea of what I enjoy doing.
This past week was Engineers’ Week, for which various events were organized for Viterbi students and clubs throughout the week, ranging from a canned food drive to a Viterbi game night. I went to the game night with one of the clubs I’m part of, Engineers Without Borders, and played Bingo. Although it was freezing outside that evening, it was fun to talk to and bond with the other people in my club!
This week was also the week of the USC Career Fair, an event where over a hundred employers come to campus to talk to students. It’s such a great way to be able to network with employers and potentially get a job or an internship! Although I didn’t attend the Career Fair myself this semester, it was cool to walk by and see all the company tents, as well as everyone dressed up in business attire on Trousdale Parkway. One superpower that many USC students have (which I will never understand) is the ability and confidence to skateboard in a suit and/or in heels, a talent that reveals itself without fail on career fair days.
Finally, I ended the week by going to a Glow Zumba event put on by the Late Night ‘SC events committee. Everyone dressed up in bright/neon colors and grabbed glow sticks when entering the event, which was incredibly cute. In all honesty, I got absolutely destroyed (Zumba is a much better cardio workout than I realized), but it was an unbelievably fun way to end a busy week and take a quick study break before midterms start next week!
