Eleanor Love is hardly the first USC student to help conduct research for the university’s Center for Inclusive Democracy (CID).
But she was certainly the first to start at age 14.
Love, the 2026 Undergraduate Speaker for the USC Price School of Public Policy’s Commencement ceremony, began her research career as a freshman – in high school. She interned with USC Price School Research Professor Mindy Romero, helping CID develop a voting-poll location tool in 2018. She made Excel tables, put together graphs and charts, proofread reports, and even conducted some qualitative research.
“That was a huge reason why I got so interested in policy research,” said Love, who will earn a Bachelor of Science in Public Policy with a Concentration in Data Analytics. “Then I visited USC when I was a freshman in high school. I came for the homecoming game, and I just fell in love immediately.”
Eight years later, Love will deliver the undergraduate commencement speech to roughly 5,000 USC Price School undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students and their families during the May 15 ceremony. It’s only fitting that she will see a familiar face on stage.
“Mindy is planning on handing me my diploma,” Love said.
Improving Communities – as a Seventh Grader
Love, who grew up in Sacramento, entered the realm of public policy as a seventh grader.
Born in China and adopted by her parents as an infant, Love became aware of xenophobia against immigrants during the 2016 election. As an 11-year-old trying to understand the news cycle about immigration policy, she genuinely feared she might be deported back to China.
“My mom and I talked about this, and she told me to convert this energy into doing something instead of just feeling afraid or anxious,” Love recalled.
So in seventh grade, Love joined the Sacramento County Youth Commission, leading a subcommittee focused on encouraging 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote ahead of their 18th birthdays. Research has shown that pre-registration boosts youth voter turnout, Love said.
“That really kicked off some of my early involvement in policy and government, and a lot of my interest in doing things through public policy and the public sector,” Love said.
A Schaeffer Fellowship in D.C.
Her involvement in policy and government has only grown.
In 2024, Love was selected as one of 10 USC students to be a Schaeffer Fellow in Government Service. She spent a summer in Washington, D.C., interning for the Director’s Office of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. There, she helped the Biden Administration roll out a major health benefits overhaul affecting nearly 2 million Postal Service workers. She created communications to help train more than 900 staff members implementing the massive benefits program.
“I really felt the gravity of what it meant for so many people across the country,” Love said. “Some of these things in government are more niche or hard for people to understand, but while I was there, I just felt that there are so many good people working in our government. It’s not always perfect. There’s bureaucracy, but they’re doing such important things for the people they’re serving.”
“Price emphasizes a really interesting blend of pragmatism and idealism.”
Eleanor Love
She’s also interned for U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the philanthropy Arnold Ventures, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. She served as President of the USC Political Union, hosting events featuring former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former White House Political Director David Simas. And that is only part of her already extensive resume.
“Eleanor is an incredible leader, student scholar and deeply committed human being,” Romero said. “It has been a privilege to know her and work with her during her journey before and at USC. I have absolutely no doubt that she will take on the world and change it for the better, and we all will be lucky just to say that we know her.”
Last month, Love landed a job at Freedman Consulting, a D.C.-based firm that supports nonprofits and philanthropies working at the intersection of policy and politics. When she moves across the country to begin her professional career, Love will bring lessons she learned at the USC Price School.
“Price emphasizes a really interesting blend of pragmatism and idealism that I – and I hope a lot of other people in my class – will take with them as we move on to the next steps in our lives,” Love said. “Both are really important values to keep, especially as policymakers or whatever people become next.
“It’s important to stay grounded about what steps we can actually take to get things done, but also keep some idealism about the big ideas we have for the world.”
