By Matthew Kredell
For all parents, sending their sons and daughters to the USC Price School of Public Policy is a significant investment in the future. As part of Trojan Family Weekend, USC Price Professor LaVonna Lewis and Assistant Professor William Resh explained to new Trojan parents how the school’s unique undergraduate labs and summer enrichment programs offer learning experiences that set students apart.
USC Price helps students find ways to build their career portfolios and learn employable skills through applied research and consulting projects, internships, undergraduate seminars, capstone projects, and special courses or programs that take place in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, Detroit, China and Germany.
“The return on investment is that we help your children navigate this space to find out those areas of their individual excellence and help to elevate them,” Lewis said.
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Each summer, an urban planning lab assists organizations working to revitalize Detroit, which had faced major economic decline and bankruptcy. USC’s Washington Semester program allows students to spend a semester at George Washington University, living and getting internship opportunities in the nation’s capital.
Resh talked about his six-unit summer program, USC Price on the Rhine, which takes students to Speyer University in Germany for courses (taught in English) and excursions to cultural, political and socio-economic sites of interest. Travel and board for undergraduate students are free thanks to donations alumni and parents of Price undergraduates.
“We have a real mission in this program, and this is to develop international professionals out of our school,” Resh said. “Both the substantive and cultural experience will help students develop knowledge, skills and assets that are desired by prospective grad schools and employers.”
Resh mentioned that participants in the program have gone on to get a Ph.D. at the London School of Economics in international relations, intern for the European Union and work for the German national government.
Lewis explained how these types of opportunities – while not mandated – provide “a different profile” for students. “You want to do everything you can to be distinguished from other candidates in all the right ways,” Lewis noted. “This kind of experience lets people know you’re willing to take a risk; you’re willing to get out of your comfort zone.”
In addition to the conversation featuring professors Lewis and Resh, USC Price hosted several other events as part of Trojan Family Weekend, including an election town hall discussion, a Dean’s breakfast, and a LEAP (Learning to Excel Academically and Professionally) hosted wine and cheese parents reception to wrap up the three-day activities.