For someone who hasn’t even graduated college, Sydnee Yu has already had plenty of professional roles.
Yu, the 2025 valedictorian for the USC Price School of Public Policy, has been an intern at the National Science Foundation, a research fellow for Times Square’s business improvement district, an undergraduate teaching assistant, a section editor of a college magazine, and a program coordinator for a USC initiative funding artwork about climate change – just to name a few.
But for Yu, the most important role of all can’t be found on her extensive resume. She’s the oldest of three sisters, and her role of “Big Sister” is where her mind went when she learned she was valedictorian.
“The first reaction I had when I found out I was valedictorian was, ‘I can’t wait to tell my parents and my sisters and be able to share with them that this opportunity of going to USC has paid off – and also it’s something that they can do,’” Yu said.
The art of urban planning
Yu, who will earn a Bachelor of Science in Urban Studies and Planning with a minor in Risk Management, is helping organize USC’s Arts and Climate Collective Festival, an annual event that showcases student artwork about environmental justice. As program coordinator, Yu works with students who apply for grants and helps determine which projects receive funding.
The upcoming festival highlights the important role that the arts can play in combating climate change, Yu said. The science surrounding climate change can be too complex for many people to understand, but art and storytelling can help reach people on an emotional level, she noted.
“That is such an important part of the process of how we tackle climate change,” Yu said. “A lot of it takes a shift in behavior, on an organizational level and on an individual level. All of that requires a sense of coming together and an understanding of the issues.”
Yu learned about the power of art while interning at Public Matters, a Los Angeles-based creative studio that helps government agencies and institutions improve civic engagement. For example, Yu helped organize a “Pet Parade” to raise awareness about the importance of safe streets and sidewalks in East LA. The internship taught her the value of taking creative approaches to community engagement and urban planning.
“I think urban planning is, at its core, such a creative field. It just naturally makes sense that art and a more creative approach should be part of the way that we try to plan cities,” Yu said. “Making spaces beautiful is an important part of generating an experience where people live somewhere, want to work there, want to spend time there, and want to spend their money in the neighborhoods where they live or work.”
Hard work runs in the family
Yu spent the summer of 2023 working in New York’s Times Square, one of the busiest and most visited places in the world. She left a lasting impression.
As Policy, Planning and Research Fellow at the Times Square Alliance – a business improvement district – Yu produced a report examining the area’s retail market in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Insights from the report were so useful that the agency has decided to make it a template for future fellowship work and for how it will track and report retail trends in the future, said Ellen Goldstein, Senior Vice President of Policy Planning and Research.
“She had never really spent time in New York before, and yet she came in and just threw herself in. She had a fantastic attitude,” said Goldstein, who earned a Master of Public Policy at USC Price. “She was so easy to get along with. She was up for doing anything.”
Yu inherited her work ethic from her parents. Her mom, who immigrated from Vietnam, is a teacher, while her dad, an immigrant from China, owned a sushi restaurant, where Yu worked while growing up. She was inspired by their commitment and passion for their work.
“As much as I didn’t always love having to go to work after school, it was also a great opportunity and an experience that I gained a lot of joy from,” Yu said. “I think that informs why I have a very strong commitment to work or just exploring new experiences and learning from working.”
As valedictorian, Yu will deliver a speech to her fellow graduates at commencement on May 16. Her message is appropriate for a policy school full of future public servants: take opportunities to help others.
“Now, more than ever, it’s important for us to support one another and really lean into community,” Yu said. “What are the opportunities that we have to take care of somebody else, in addition to ourselves, and make an impact on somebody else? That’s the message that I’m trying to explore right now.”
