Every student at USC has to take two writing classes, one in their freshman year and another one as an upperclassman. The upper division course has sections that are more career-based. I am taking one of the “Writing for Engineers” sections. The curriculum is shaped by Viterbi, and a lot of the work we do is for Viterbi publications! We wrote an article for Illumin about engineering in everyday life, and an article for Viterbi Conversations in Ethics, about professional engineering ethics. We also did a presentation to practice effectively communicating.
For my class’ final project, we had a group project where our task was to write a recommendation report. Specifically, my class partnered with the Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies (WIES), a USC program who has a campus on Catalina Island. Most of the class is engineers, so we used our technical knowledge to help their campus become more sustainable, including capturing stormwater, recycling water, or generating more usable water.
To help us get more insight for our recommendations, we spent a Friday visiting the Wrigley campus. It was about an hour-and-a-half boat ride each way, and although I definitely felt a little seasick by the end, it was a really beautiful trip. I got to spend time on the deck, and there was one part of the ride where dolphins were swimming directly next to our boat.
After arriving at the campus, we got a tour of all the facilities and were able to walk around. WIES has their own dormitories and is hoping to have USC students to stay on their campus for longer periods of time, so that is a great opportunity for USC students interested in the environment and sustainability. The campus is beautiful and has a lot of interesting research going on. If you are able to visit, I definitely would!
