ONE ON ONE WITH A USC STUDENT
What did you do when you first found out you got into USC?
I was so ecstatic to find out I was admitted to USC! I checked my portal during school and saw my admission decision and I gave out a huge shout right in the middle of my English class! I was so excited my teacher excused me so I could immediately call my parents (who are both UCLA Alumni by the way) to tell them I was going to USC! When I got home, I even started to cry about how happy I was. I am so honored to be a part of the Trojan family!
What are you most excited to learn/do/experience/etc. while at USC?
I’m am extremely excited to be a part of the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab. I saw the lab on my very first campus tour here, and I knew right then and there that USC was the school for me. I can’t wait to launch some rockets! I also love to sing and perform, and I hope to a member of a USC a capella club soon. I’m also looking forward to the social aspect of school. I can’t wait to meet new people and create new memories.
What is one thing you brought with you to USC that means the most to you?
My dad recently went to Ghana, Africa on a business trip. He brought me back an amazing customized USC African Ghana tribal mask. It’s one of the coolest pieces of USC memorabilia I have. It is literally one of a kind, and I could not wait to put it up on my dorm room wall.
What piece of advice were you given about starting college that you’ll follow?
One of the most important pieces of advice I got was to make sure to manage your time. It’s ok to have fun at college, but one thing drilled into me that I believe in is always to handle your “business before pleasure.” Once my homework is done, then it is time to live the college dream.
What do you think/hope you’ll be like four years from now?
I hope I will have made a difference while at USC. I want to be a great student, a future leader, and above all a great engineer. Four years from now I hope that I will be viewed by my fellow students and my professors as a wiser (and a better) student and a great friend and mentor to other USC students.
Justin T. Weiss is a Mork Scholar and Mechanical Engineering major who loves theater and dance. Due to his speech impediment growing up and passion for performing arts, he calls himself a ‘stuttering thespian and hobbled dancer.’