By Andrea Klick, student reporter
USC recognized two Price students for their academic achievements at its annual Academic Honors Convocation that was held virtually this year on Oct. 22.
Honor Hayball, a 2020 political science graduate and current masters of public policy student, and Dani Morales, the 2020 Price valedictorian, won the Provost’s Award for their academic accomplishments. The award honors students who transferred to the University and graduated with a 4.0 GPA.
“We are incredibly proud of Honor and Dani’s continued achievements in the classroom and beyond,” said USC Price Vice Dean for Academic Affairs Juliet Musso. “They both display the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to the public good that are hallmarks of students at the Sol Price School of Public Policy.”
Hayball transferred to USC from Occidental College her junior year and studied political science as an undergraduate. She then applied for the masters in public policy program to learn how to have an impact in local and city government through policy implementation. During her time at USC, she interned with Pete Buttigieg’s campaign ahead of the Iowa caucus. While there, she met several colleagues pursuing graduate degrees in public policy and knew she wanted to learn more about the issues affecting people, as well as policies that could be implemented to make real solutions.
In her first semester at USC, Hayball said she’s already learning the practical skills she’ll need to work in public policy, like writing policy memos and constructing data analyses.
“I see myself working in local government at the city or county level, and I see myself working for an elected official, working on policies that way,” Hayball said. “And also, maybe even working at the state level, but I think anywhere where I can make the biggest impact, and I can use these analytical skills to really weigh things and figure out what the best policy to go forward is.”
Morales studied public policy at Price on the philanthropy, nonprofits and social innovation track and focused on community service through her involvement in organizations such as Los Angeles Community Impact, Women and Youth Supporting Each Other, Friends and Neighbors Day and Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab.
Morales wants to dedicate her career to addressing poverty and homelessness. She currently works as an assistant project manager with Linc Housing and a housing navigator with the Illumination Foundation, where she previously worked as a grant writing and communication and development intern. During her time at USC Price, she also worked as a class facilitator with Chrysalis, where she taught a course on job interviews to low-income individuals and people experiencing homelessness and worked as a teaching fellow with Breakthrough San Juan Capistrano where she taught eighth grade English classes and created the curriculum for a gender studies course.
“I believe our relationships are one of the most important things we have in our lives,” she told students at graduation. “We should continue to nurture them, because doing so will help us feel connected to others and the world around us; stay in touch with all of the incredible people we have met through Price. From our professors who became our mentors and our classmates who turned into our best friends, I hope we will continue to nourish all of these meaningful relationships that we were lucky enough to find at the Price School of Public Policy.”
Congratulations again to these remarkable students!