But thanks to her own determination and a new program that offers students real-life hospital training, Bodden is on her way to a fulfilling career in health care.

The program is called the USC Family of Schools Concurrent Enrollment Initiative, and it is an offshoot of the Neighborhood Academic Initiative. Targeted to low-income, disadvantaged, first-generation students, the program gives high-achieving students the chance to learn valuable skills in a real-world setting at Keck Medical Center of USC. Bodden was in the first class of students to participate.

While the students at Foshay Learning Center — one of the university’s Family of Schools — took their regular classes during the week, they also had intensive learning sessions every Saturday and Sunday at Los Angeles City College.

In March, five of the students moved on to receive some training at Keck Medical Center of USC, with Bodden working in cardiology. They worked 20 hours a week for three months and were also enrolled at college.

And it’s all 100 percent free — not bad when similar courses can cost thousands of dollars. While it was anything but easy, the allure of a free education made it all worthwhile.

“I didn’t have to pay for anything — shoes, books,” Bodden said. “They even provide transportation.”

The program became a reality last year when Theda Douglas, USC associate vice president for government partnerships and programs, applied for a grant from USC Neighborhood Outreach, which is funded by the annual Good Neighbors Campaign.

“We took high school students who are very serious about their career and wanted to be in the profession,” Douglas said. “It took them 16 weeks, every Saturday and Sunday. Their parents had to have them here at 6 a.m. We are thrilled to see the dedication of both parents and students in this endeavor. It is programs like this that provide a meaningful career path and give students a glimpse of what they can become.”

The Community Benefit and Outreach Department at Keck Medical Center was instrumental in bringing the program to the Health Sciences Campus. Providing medical education to minority students is one of the department’s focused outreach initiatives, according to Sevanne Sarkis, administrative director of community benefit and outreach.

“We have certain priorities we’re trying to meet in the community,” she said. “We’re trying to give them as much experience as possible.”

Bodden’s class was something of a test. If the students didn’t do well, the program would face an uncertain future. But Bodden is now tutoring the second group of students starting their studies.

The program makes the students more attractive when it comes time to enroll in college, said Alicia Syres, director of volunteer services at USC Norris Cancer Hospital.

“Grades are wonderful, but [colleges are] looking at the whole person now,” she said. “Have they gone out of their way to help someone else? They want more than numbers on paper. They want the whole package.”

Though she still has a way to go before reaching her ultimate goal of becoming a nurse practitioner, Bodden has already received vocational certification as a certified nursing assistant and a home health aide.

In fact, she already puts her skills to use. To make extra money, she spends weekends tending to an elderly woman with dementia.

So with classes, hospital training and tutoring, when does Bodden get a few free minutes for herself?

“Holidays,” she said with a laugh.

More than 450 guests filled Town & Gown to honor the graduates and their families — supporters who included USC senior administrators, donors, civic leaders and elected officials.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sen. Curren Price (D-Los Angeles) congratulated the students during the opening reception, while representatives of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Los Angeles Unified School District President Monica Garcia delivered proclamations commending the students’ achievements.

KABC-TV news correspondent Alysha Del Valle ’99, who recently joined the newly established USC Civic Engagement Advisory Council, served as the evening’s emcee.

A special recognition was presented to USC Trustee Mónica Lozano, president and CEO of impreMedia and La Opinión, for her advocacy efforts in education and college access programs.

Lozano praised the parents for their struggles, sacrifices and hard work in helping the NAI scholars realize their dream of going to college.

“Tonight doesn’t happen without exceptional support,” she said in both English and Spanish.

Lozano then addressed the graduates.

“Not only have you demonstrated that si se puede (it can be done), but that you will,” she said. “When I’m asked where are the leaders of tomorrow, I say ‘They’re in this room.’ ”

One of the graduates was Tristan Baizar, who came to the United States from Belize with his older sister and single mother when he was 4 years old.

“While almost 100 percent of us are the first to go to college,” he said, “we will experience many other firsts: first time away from home, first time flexing our independence and first time making our own decisions.”

Fourteen of this year’s graduates will attend USC on a full-tuition scholarship, including Baizar, who will join the university this fall. Other graduates will move on to universities in California and across the country.

Gloria Reyes credited the NAI for providing her with the tools to help her daughter, Diane, who will continue her studies at California State University, Long Beach.

“While it is ultimately my choice, the classes, counselors and conversations with other college-bound NAI scholars have made it much easier for me to let her move out,” Reyes said. “My daughter has wings and now I feel much more confident letting her soar out into the world.”

View additional photos here.

Escutia, a self-described “scholarship kid from East LA,” had a full-tuition scholarship to study law at Georgetown University but worried about whether she could afford rent in Washington, D.C.

Shortly before commencement, professors from the then-School of Public Administration took her out for a farewell dinner and presented her with an envelope. She was shocked to find a $2,000 check inside: They had taken a collection for their star pupil.

“Thirtysomething years later, I’m still touched,” Escutia said. “Coming back here is bringing back great memories.”

It was a wise investment for the university. Escutia went on to serve 14 years in the California Legislature and now returns to her alma mater as vice president of USC Government Relations.

Escutia, who started on May 1, will represent USC’s core academic and public affairs interests and communicate the breadth and depth of the university’s research activities to officials at the national, state and local levels.

“Martha Escutia has dedicated her life to public service, and we are proud that USC was there at the very beginning,” said Thomas S. Sayles, USC senior vice president of University Relations. “Now she will use her talents to represent USC.”

Escutia was a member of the California Senate from 1998 to 2006 and a member of the California Assembly from 1992 to 1998. She was the first woman to chair both the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Known for her innovative leadership and consensus building, she passed legislation to rid schools of junk foods and ensured access to the court system for the poor and most vulnerable. She developed the first self-help centers to assist unrepresented victims of negligence, abuse and fraud, and she helped to ensure that children would have their own court-appointed advocates, especially in contentious child custody cases.

Prior to joining USC, Escutia was a partner at The Senators Firm, a law and consulting firm she co-founded. She also served as a partner in the national law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Throughout her career, Escutia has been lauded for her work as a public servant and a litigator. She was honored with the 2010 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the 2007 Commitment to Justice Award by the California Supreme Court, among other accolades.

She was a guest lecturer at the USC Price School of Public Policy and an adjunct professor in the political science department at East Los Angeles College. She currently serves on the board of the California Emerging Technology Fund, a $100-million fund aimed at bridging the digital divide. As a volunteer trainer for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Escutia trained female legislators in Bolivia.

“I feel like my life has come full circle,” Escutia said. “How could I not come back?”

All 57 graduates of USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI) program, an intensive program serving public school students from the university’s neighborhoods, will continue their education this fall.

Fourteen of the graduates will attend USC on a full-tuition scholarship, with more headed for other top universities around the country, including the United States Military Academy, Pomona College, Bucknell University and University of California campuses.

Almost all the first in their families to attend college, the program’s students spent six to seven years coming to USC’s campus for early-morning math and English classes and afterschool tutoring during the week as well as daylong Saturday classes.

A special gala hosted by USC Civic Engagement will take place at Town & Gown on May 9 in honor of the graduates, family members, teachers and supporters.

A special recognition will also be presented to USC Trustee Mónica Lozano, president and CEO of impreMedia and La Opinión, for her advocacy efforts in education and college access programs.

To date, 745 South Los Angeles students have graduated from the NAI program and gone to college.

“NAI is really a game changer in the South Los Angeles neighborhoods around USC’s University Park campus,” said Kim Thomas-Barrios, executive director of the NAI. “Instead of wondering if they are going to attend college, students are thinking about where they are going to college. It transforms a student’s view of their future prospects as one filled with choice.”

Among the 2013 highlights:

Tristan Baizar was accepted to 14 schools but chose to attend USC to study business as a Norman Topping scholarship recipient. Baizar, who will represent the NAI as a speaker at the gala, was born in Belize and came to America at the age of 4. He attended Foshay Learning Center, one of the USC Family of Schools, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“NAI gave him direction,” said Malva Yorke, Baizar’s mother. “This was everything he worked toward for the past seven years.”

Carlos Prado will attend the United States Military Academy after graduating from Foshay, where he attended school since kindergarten. He plans to transform his community though financial literacy education.

Vanessa Lopez, who is helping to make a difference in her community through her involvement with a performance-based activism group, will attend USC.

Oscar Sanabria, an accomplished musician who calls music his “oxygen” and plays the piano, drums, trumpet, violin, bass and trombone, will attend California State University, Los Angeles.

Karolina Reyes and Arcelia Gante are aerial acrobats who will attend USC and El Camino College, respectively.

Gricelda Bonilla’s two daughters graduated from the NAI and earned full-tuition scholarships to USC. The oldest, Jacqueline, will graduate from USC this year with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Bonilla’s younger daughter, Jennifer, is a junior studying to be an astronautical engineer. Both have performed in the USC Trojan Marching Band.

“Since they were in kindergarten, teachers told me they were smart, and [my daughters] realized with education, you have a better future,” Bonilla said.

In the NAI, “you take the extra academic classes, go to school on Saturday. Seven years of Saturdays, it’s a lot of work. Since I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college, I wanted [my daughters] to have that opportunity for a better life.”

The NAI is a seven-year, pre-college enrichment program operated by USC Civic Engagement that prepares low-income, minority students living in the neighborhoods surrounding USC for success at a college or university.

Over the past 15 years, 99 percent of NAI graduates have enrolled in secondary education programs, with 83 percent enrolling as freshmen in four-year colleges.

More than one-third of NAI graduates during that time attended USC.

The NAI also includes a Family Development Institute that assists parents in supporting their college-bound student with workshops and training on financial literacy and college retention, among other topics.

The list of graduates with a university choice follows:

Jessica Alcazar, University of California, Irvine
Catherine Alfaro, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Melissa Viviana Avina, Pomona College
Eric Alexander Ayala, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Tristan Baizar, USC
Edna Barco, USC
Tavis Derrick Burnes, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Andrea Camarillo, Humboldt State University
Connie Cardona, Mount St. Mary’s College
Krystal Marie Chavez, USC
Brittney Coleman, California State University, Northridge
Raeven Colmore, California State University, Northridge
Rosemary Donis, California State University, Los Angeles
Juan Antonio Escalante, University of California, Riverside
Arcelia Gante-Pineda, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Manuel Francisco Garcia, El Camino College (plans to transfer to USC)
Rene Garcia-Ayon, California State University, Northridge
Milagros Garrido, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Brandon Givan Giles, California State University, Long Beach
Aracely Herrera, California State University, Chico
Kristin Holloway, University of California, Irvine
Jessica Lazaro, USC
Vanessa Lopez, USC
Daniel Lopez, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Alexander Domingo Lopez, El Camino College (plans transfer to four-year college)
Maribel Lopez, Bucknell University
Joseph Ryan Lynch, California State University, Los Angeles
Christopher Marroquin, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
David Melara, University of California, Los Angeles
Misael Meza, California State University, Long Beach
Sabrina Mora, California State University, Northridge
Brenda Janet Morales, USC
Vanessa Mored, Humboldt State University
Jiovani Moreno, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Kevin Nerio, California State University Long Beach
Daniel Novoa El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Saul Antonio Ortiz, USC
Mayra Elisett Pena, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Carlos Prado Jr., United States Military Academy
George Bryan Ramos, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Diane Reyes, California State University, Long Beach
Karolina Reyes, USC
Irving Erasmo Ruiz, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Luis Ruiz, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Oscar Sanabria, California State University, Los Angeles
Carlos Sanchez, USC
Omar Sanchez, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Emely Stephanie Sanchez, University of California, Los Angeles
Daniel Sierra, USC
Perla Solorzano, USC
Kenia Sosa University of California, Riverside
Victor Tellez, USC
Sandra Urbina, USC
Marvin Enrique Vargas, USC
Edgar Daniel Vera, El Camino College (plans transfer to USC)
Tazon Darden Watkins, California State University, Northridge
Jocelyn Zambrano, University of California, Irvine

Organized by the School for Early Childhood Education (SECE), the day began with a presentation by USC Civic Engagement and music by Plaza de la Raza students. Families walked around perusing booths that promoted everything from the YMCA to USC Kid Watch. Keeping health in mind, concession stands featured an educational display that dramatized the sugar content of popular beverages.

“Today is about awareness,” said Brenda Morales, a Casa Loma College nursing student who volunteered time. “We’re talking about not only how to handle illness but what to watch for in a healthy individual that might otherwise go unnoticed.”

Throughout the day, direct screenings were offered for the entire family free of charge. Professionals provided eye tests, dental consultations, body mass index measurements and blood pressure scans.

De’Lores Gray, a veteran vision screener for Junior Blind of America, was struck by the scope of services offered.

“I attend health fairs every Saturday, and it’s nice to see one that offers help to parents in addition to their children,” she said, chatting briefly between appointments during her packed four-hour schedule.

Over the course of the day, Gray screened more than 100 children. One out of every 20 youngsters needed glasses.

“Vision problems are not any more frequent with these kids, but unfortunately, those who need help often go untreated,” she said. “Part of today is enabling responsibility,” she added while packing her portable eye chart after a long day. “Parents must become a doctor for their own child.”

Other free services included dental screenings by the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, blood pressure exams by Casa Loma College nurses and adult vision screenings by Salud Digna, a nonprofit health care provider. The Central Neighborhood Health Foundation, a free health clinic in the area, received such a volume of visitors that it ran out of business cards by mid-day. The Law Offices of J. Cha & Associates offered legal consultation to families with insurance concerns in light of new federal programs.

SECE coordinator Ryan Quon understood the benefits of the fair for the neighborhood.

“We’d like to thank Theda Douglas and Craig Keys of Civic Engagement for making this event a reality,” he said.

“This is a major service to our community.”

Botball is an educational program that strives to engage students in team-oriented robotics competition.

Over two months of intensive training, the students went from being vaguely interested in robots and the math and science behind them to developing a keen interest in robotics and other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related subjects.

On that Saturday, their team would finish fourth out of 48 teams. Though the team didn’t take home the grand prize, members may have learned something more important, according to mentors Jason Craig and Deyon Shearer.

“Going through this process brings more meaning to the math and science they’re taking in school,” said Craig, a STEM teacher at Upland Junior High. “They can see an outcome. There’s a reason to learn it.”

The high school competed in the largest regional botball tournament in the world, which was organized by Ross Mead, a USC Viterbi PhD candidate in computer science. Two months earlier, Mead introduced students to the computer programming material at a two-day training session at USC. During the session, the 10-student Upland High team worked with their mentors to learn robot design and computer programming.

In the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, Upland students prepared their robot for the first round of competition. The team’s robot earned the seventh-highest number of points in that round by completing obstacle course tasks, such as capturing objects or knocking them down.

Upland advanced to the double elimination round in which its robot won five head-to-head competitions by autonomously navigating the course more efficiently than competitors.

A National Science Foundation grant funded Upland and 27 other botball teams to study different mentorship styles and their impact on student self-confidence in STEM.

Mead hopes the grant received by USC will help educators understand the most effective ways to foster a deeper appreciation of STEM and increase student self-confidence. The nation’s economic future and continued ability to innovate are at stake, some experts believe.

According to those experts, the United States suffers from a lack of young students who are excited about entering STEM fields. Only 4.5 percent of American students receive university degrees in engineering, compared to 14 percent in Europe and 21 percent in Asia, according to a recent Forbes editorial by Andrew Viterbi PhD ’62, namesake of USC Viterbi.

Student belief in their scientific abilities is a solid indicator of whether they will enter into STEM-related fields. It is an even more accurate predictor than past achievement, according to experts.

“It’s about inspiring kids to do something that they frankly think they are incapable of doing,” Mead said.

Mead understands the importance of a strong mentor as well as anyone. In a small high school in Illinois, Mead excelled in math and science, yet he didn’t see these skills leading to a desirable career path. A professor at a nearby university encouraged him to start a robotics team at his school to compete in botball.

Under Mead’s direction, the team won the competition two years in a row, beating dozens of high school and college teams. Thirteen years later, Mead still maintains his relationship, both personal and professional, with his former mentor, Jerry Weinberg of Southern University Illinois-Edwardsville.

Mead credits the encouragement he received from his mentor for his engineering success. He wants other young students to benefit from similar relationships.

Maja Matarić, Mead’s PhD adviser and renowned robotics expert at USC Viterbi, shares Mead’s belief in the power of encouraging students to enter STEM-related fields.

“Role modeling, mentoring and championing are critical for recruiting and retaining students in fields that are not typical, popularized or stereotyped career choices,” Matarić said.

Upland students already feel more confident in their abilities. When they began building their robot, they only wanted to score in the competition. When they saw their robot performing well in the recent competition, they said they hoped to place first, second or third.

Though they fell just short of their goal, they said they were proud of their performance and looked forward to coming back next year.

“To watch the robot our team created run and work, it felt awesome,” said 12-year-old student Saqlian Naqvi.

On top of all that, your front tooth is loose.

“OK, everyone, take three deep breaths,” said USC staff member Tina Koneazny, sitting straight-backed and cross-legged. A group of children with looks of concentration mirrored her movements as they stretched out on yoga mats. All eyes closed, one boy placed his hand over his heart as if reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

“Breathe in and out,” Koneazny said, her own chest rising and falling. “Try to hear your own breath. Deep breath in. Out. Last one, deep breath in.”

A long, collective whoooosh of air. “Great job,” she said.

For these students and those at five additional elementary schools near USC, childhood stressors are being soothed with yoga.

Little Yoginis is the brainchild of Koneazny, associate director of administration and educational outreach at the Joint Educational Project (JEP), housed in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. The program is part of JEP’s USC ReadersPlus.

Each week, Koneazny and ReadersPlus tutors visit elementary schools, read children a book and practice yoga, imbuing the themes in the literature. For example, during one session, they read aloud Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss, emphasizing Horton the elephant’s faithfulness and determination to protect an egg nuzzled in a nest perched in a tree.

A student perfects the tree pose. (USC Photo/Pamela J. Johnson)

In this case, the yoga practice began with a breathing technique called “Elephant Breath” — deep cleansing breaths as hands are clasped and arms are swung back and forth like an elephant’s trunk. After warming up with a number of sun salutations, the children followed with a “tree” pose in honor of Horton’s many months crouched in a tree.

“The themes in each book are selected as they align with the guiding principles of yoga,” Koneazny said. “These are values that provide a moral compass for all human beings to become their best selves. Themes like nonharming, honoring one another, respect for one another, mindfulness, thoughtfulness, kindness. For example, one lesson is built around the theme of harmony and nonviolence. For this lesson, we’ll be practicing tapas — the yoga practice of discipline and determination.”

On this recent day, under the sun’s warmth at Vermont Avenue Elementary School, one of the USC Family of Schools, Koneazny held up a book while the children, mostly third-graders, scooted in to hear over the laughter and occasional shriek from the playground.

“This book is called One,” Koneazny told the children, opening the book. “Ready?”

Blue is a quiet color. Blue enjoyed looking at the sky floating on the waves. Overall, he liked being Blue, except when he was with Red. Red was a hothead; he liked to pick on Blue. ‘Red is hot, Blue is not!’ Red would tease Blue.

“Red is evil!” hollered a boy from the group.

In the book, characters named Orange, Green and Purple don’t like what they see, but they don’t speak up. Things escalate — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up and stand together. The students learned about numbers, counting and primary and secondary colors but also about embracing differences and how it can just take one voice to make a difference.

After reading the book aloud, Koneazny asked the children: “Remember when One arrived in the book and saw that Red was being a bully? Did One shy away or did he stand up to Red?”

“Stand up!” the children chanted.

“He stood up like an arrow, right?” Koneazny continued. “So now we’re going to do an arrow pose.”

Koneazny and ReadersPlus tutors meandered through the group, helping students get into the pose properly, adjusting them as needed.

“Dante, very nice,” Koneazny said. “You got it. Good one.”

“Was mine nice?” a girl asked.

“Yes, good one,” replied Koneazny, a 15-year yoga practitioner. “Look at you, awesome, very good.”

After yoga practice, children talked about the beauty of the discipline that originated in ancient India.

“Yoga is like being on a nice, fluffy cloud,” said 8-year-old Paola Ruiz. “It’s very relaxing. It keeps you healthy. It’s good for your bones because it’s almost like exercise.”

Ruiz went on to explain that yoga gives her energy.

“It’s good for your heart. Because when you’re breathing, it keeps your blood flowing,” she said.

Amani Tann, 8, said yoga is healthy because it keeps her more balanced and focused.

“You have to concentrate on one thing and that keeps you focused,” she said. “Instead of looking around, you focus on one thing.”

Denise Zarate and Dionne Ramirez, both 8, said yoga makes them happy.

“You’re paying attention, calming down and don’t get mad,” Zarate said. “It takes patience and balance. It makes me healthy in my spirit.”

Tutor Annelisha Dixon helps 8-year-old Amani Tann do a tree pose. (USC Photo/Pamela J. Johnson)

Annelisha Dixon, one of the ReadersPlus tutors assisting children that day, works with children one-on-one during the school day, helping them with reading, and participates in the afterschool yoga program at Vermont.

“Yoga is really good to help children reflect on what they’re doing and how they’re behaving,” said Dixon, who takes courses at the USC School of Dramatic Arts and minors in Spanish at USC Dornsife.

“Yoga helps them gather their thoughts, which can be hard for children. It focuses them. Reminds them where they are and what they should be doing. So when it’s homework time, they’re a lot more respectful to each other and themselves.”

Vermont Elementary Principal Brenda Cortez was thrilled with JEP’s Little Yoginis program.

“They love it,” Cortez said. “I’m just excited that USC can bring this to my children. JEP exposes our students to so many new things.

“Having the children relax and breathe, especially when we’re approaching [California Standards Test] time, is important,” she explained. “Children get anxious. It’s a big test. With this program, they get oxygen into their little bodies and learn to breathe.”

For instance, at Magnolia Avenue Elementary School, JEP volunteers talked to third-graders about immigration and its impact on the cultural diversity of LA. Volunteers discussed culture, tolerance and conflict management — subjects that students are usually not exposed to until middle or high school.

Founding this program was one reason that Glynn, now a senior majoring in international relations, won an Innovation Award during the 2013 USC Community Service Awards Dinner. The recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship was among the many undergraduates, graduate students and teaching assistants from throughout USC who were honored during the annual event held on April 16 at Town & Gown.

In that category, Ross Mead of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, Ali Al-Sarraf of the USC Gould School of Law and students in the Interfaith Badge program also won awards. Short videos of honorees talking about their community work were shown.

“This award is representative of USC Dornsife’s continued investment in service learning,” said Glynn, who is minoring in cultural anthropology, policy and management and German. “While I’m responsible for the idea of the Explore program, I could not have implemented it without the support of JEP, the USC professors and Los Angeles schools who believed in the program.”

At the event, Elizabeth Garrett, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said the awards acknowledge students who have demonstrated extraordinary service to Los Angeles.

“USC and Los Angeles are inextricably tied, having grown up together — we have worked side by side in leveraging our resources, celebrating diversity and spurring innovation that shapes society,” Garrett said. “Both Los Angeles and USC rely on the efforts of those who see problems and take action to solve them, helping to sustain this symbiotic relationship.”

USC has long maintained service to its community as one of its core values, she said.

“This, indeed, is part of what it means to be a Trojan,” she said. “Our new ‘Strategic Vision: Matching Deeds to Ambitions’ sets priorities for our institution going forward, and it makes this commitment clear:

“Our goal is to have a direct impact on improving the quality of life for our neighbors,” Garrett said, reciting the strategic vision. “That impact will be felt through health care and patient care, including participation of our community in health-related research, community service programs, and many arts and cultural events.

“We must make it a priority to build institutional ties and collaborations across the city,” she added. “Just as we talk about USC’s impact on Los Angeles over the last 130 years, we aim to make the coming decades as transformative for the areas immediately surrounding our campuses.”

USC Dornsife Dean Steve A. Kay welcomed guests and gave a brief history of the Community Service Awards tradition. Henry Salvatori, a trustee of the university, and his wife, Grace, were great philanthropists who gave generously to USC, he said. Two buildings on the University Park Campus were named in their honor: Grace Ford Salvatori Hall and the Salvatori Computer Science Center.

“Henry, an immigrant from Italy, came to America to experience what he called ‘real freedom,’ ” Kay said. “He strongly believed and would often remark that ‘freedom is not free, and we all must take responsibility for our society.’ He thought that service and volunteerism gave students a wonderful opportunity to fulfill their ‘civic duty.’ ”

In 1980, Grace Salvatori established the Extraordinary Community Service Award and Reception to encourage and recognize a graduating senior for his or her service to the community. In the early 1990s, the Office of Civic Engagement and the Division of Student Affairs joined USC Dornsife in co-sponsoring this event, adding many categories of winners and turning it into a dinner.

“With some 60 percent of our students engaged in a variety of service programs and projects, both academic and extracurricular, we are truly building a Trojan army of thoughtful, committed citizens who, as evidenced by those being recognized tonight, are changing the world in countless ways,” Kay said. “And I can’t tell you how inspired I am by that.”

Addressing the audience was Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry ’77, MPA ’81, who earned a bachelor’s degree from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and a master’s in public administration from the USC Price School of Public Policy.

“JEP was one of my early activities at USC,” Perry said. “I had so much enthusiasm working with the kids in the community and helping them do their homework. It was just that simple. To help them with their math with their reading and writing. It was very fulfilling. I didn’t realize then it would be a foundation for what I would do much later.”

Los Angeles Councilman Paul Krekorian ’81, who earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from USC Dornsife, also spoke at the event. He was also involved in JEP as a student.

“As a lifelong Trojan, I’ve been in this room for many events,” he said. “And I can’t recall a time that I have found more inspiring than this evening — or a time when I’ve been more proud to be a Trojan.

“USC is a vital part of who we are as a city,” he added. “What I’m most proud of about the university is that it is producing the leaders of the future generation who are people of character and compassion — people who are devoted to service. The honorees tonight are a perfect example.”

Other winners included:

Activism and Advocacy Award

Chella Coleman and Deborah Vieyra of USC School of Dramatic Arts
Eugene Durrah of USC School of Social Work

Multiple Engagements

Conan Teng of Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC

Extraordinary Engagement Award

Brillante Wang of USC Marshall School of Business
Jane Desmond and Kendra King Treichler of USC Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
Amanda Wong of USC School of Pharmacy
Thomas DeLorenzo of USC Price School of Public Policy
Claire Baugher of USC Student Affairs
Carly Woodworth of USC Financial Aid

Tammara Anderson, JEP executive director, who also spoke at the event, said this year’s Community Service Dinner was a true celebration of the connection between service and scholarship.

Thirteen participating schools and academic units across the University Park and the Health Sciences campuses converged to recognize the service of students and community partners who have made a positive impact on the USC neighborhood and across Los Angeles.

“This is an important event,” Anderson said. “The students honored tonight are a testament to the notion that universities and their communities can work together toward mutually beneficial goals.”

As always, the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences was in the house. Leo Braudy, University Professor and holder of the Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature, and professor of English and history, and Master of Professional Writing (MPW) program lecturer M.G. Lord participated in the “Telling Hollywood Tales” panel.

David Treuer, professor of English, was a panelist during two sessions, “Does Race Matter? Publishing as a Writer of Color” and “Writing American Identity.” MPW’s Dinah Lenney and Sandra Tsing Loh spoke during “Why Did the Writer Cross the Genre.”

Quintessential authors such as Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates, Fuminori Nakamura and Lemony Snicket shared their insights and writing secrets. Among them was USC’s very own literary star, University Professor Kevin Starr.

Winner of the 2012 Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, the California librarian emeritus was interviewed by history Professor William Deverell. Both are of USC Dornsife.

Starr is best known for his eight-volume series, Americans and the California Dream (Oxford University Press).

“Has there ever been anyone who so embodies California letters as Kevin Starr?” Deverell, history department chair and director of the USC-Huntington Institute on California and the West, asked during an April 20 session held at the Davidson Continuing Education Center.

“There’s a pantheon, of course, where brilliant titans of fiction and nonfiction share collective space in the project of figuring out California. John Steinbeck is there. Frank Norris is there. Woody Guthrie is there. Joan Didion is there.

“And Kevin Starr is there and arguably has been there since the early 1970s publication of his Americans and the California Dream, the monographic ship which launched a life’s work.”

Starr’s series began with his 1969 doctoral thesis in the American Civilization program at Harvard University. Mentored by Alan Heimert, Harvard’s scholar of 18th-century American religion, Starr set out to write on a great awakening of a different sort: California’s imaginative hold on the American psyche.

The thesis became the book Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915 (Oxford University Press, 1973). With it, Starr embarked on an intellectual expedition based on a deceptively simple, even formulaic, task, Deverell said. What is the meaning and health of the “California Dream” through time? The journey has produced more than another six books.

“But the whole is far more significant than its parts,” Deverell said. “Homeric in ambition, Kevin Starr’s California dream series is the most important scholarly investigation of California’s past ever produced.”

In 40-plus years, Starr has analyzed the shifting dimensions of California’s possibilities since statehood. And he has changed his own view of those possibilities.

“It is a life cycle,” Starr said. “I began writing this series as a young PhD student at Harvard, and I continue writing it now as a 72-year-old grandfather of seven. So if you haven’t changed, matured, developed and grown over that time — if you’re still back there, there’s something wrong.”

In addition, the first books were written at the pinnacle of the American century, Starr said.

“They were written at the high point of the American myth and symbol and the beginning of the American studies movement,” he said.

Starr himself had finished his Army service, which he completed pre-Vietnam War.

“So there was not the tragic dimension of having to fight in Vietnam,” he said, adding that he attended Harvard in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, “so there was a tragic dimension there.”

Starr said that as he looks back at his earlier books in the series, there are some things he would have done differently.

For instance, he said he would have written something about the campaign against the Native Americans in Northern California from 1858 to 1864. Headquartered at Fort Humboldt, the Humboldt Military District waged the ongoing Bald Wills War against the Native Americans in the Mendocino, Trinity, Humboldt, Klamath and Del Norte counties.

“So that side of things I would have done better,” Starr said.

Starr turned philosophical, saying as you grow, you learn.

“You internalize what [Miguel de] Unamuno called the Tragic Sense of Life,” he said. By the 1980s, a swarm of new historians entered the fray. “They magnificently opened up landscapes. I began to learn from the next generation.”

Starr was greatly influenced by historian and journalist Carey McWilliams JD ’27, a USC graduate whom Starr knew before McWilliams died in 1980.

“Alfred North Whitehead said that the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato,” Starr said. “You could say that all writers on California are a series of footnotes to Carey.”

After all these years, Starr still believes in California’s exceptionalism.

“California is a high instance of American civilization,” Starr said. “It wasn’t an alternative. It wasn’t an eccentricity. It wasn’t an afterthought. It wasn’t out there like a bellwether. It was an instance of American civilization. The way that New Englanders never have trouble saying New England is an instance of American civilization.

“Or Mid-Atlantics, New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, the South — especially because of the war between the states — the South has no problem seeing itself on its own terms. People from Illinois and Wisconsin. And Texans have no trouble whatsoever.”

He recalled browsing the Widener Library at Harvard as a graduate student and discovering its remarkable California collection. He felt studying California helped him to express himself as an American.

“I consider myself an Americanist working in the California field,” he said.

During the Q-and-A session, an audience member asked Starr whether books would survive.

“The book is better than ever,” he said. “What, we’re publishing 78,000 titles a year? Remember when Mark Twain said that the reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated? The book is better than ever, and it has to move over and share with other competing — well, not competing but supplemental — interactive modes of information. But the book won’t disappear.

“We have photography, but we still have painters who paint with watercolors and oil. The book will be here for years to come. The best books we publish now on good paper will be here as fresh as they were opened on the day of publication 500 years from now.”

Among many other USC Dornsife participants at the festival were Laura Pulido, professor of gender studies and ethnicity; Dana Johnson, associate professor of English; Karen Tongson, associate professor of English and gender studies; and MPW lecturer Richard Rayner, speaking in a session on “Living and Writing Los Angeles,” moderated by MPW Director Brighde Mullins. Deverell was also a panelist.

Also in attendance were panelists Sarah Banet-Weiser, professor of American studies and ethnicity, and professor at the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism; Jack Halberstam, professor of American studies and ethnicity, gender studies and comparative literature; and Tongson.

The faculty members spoke in the session “Gender, Sex and the Politics of Pop Culture,” moderated by Tara McPherson, associate professor of gender and critical studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, who also teaches at USC Dornsife.

“We are very grateful that you have made this the largest, most prestigious public literary festival in the nation,” said USC President C. L. Max Nikias in his opening remarks to the crowd gathered in front of the USC Stage in Hahn Plaza.

“I believe there is no better place to hold an event that ignites the imagination and inspires scholarly activity than a world-class university like USC,” he continued, after noting that this year’s festival featured numerous live-music performances and film screenings, in addition to a host of literary discussions and events.

Following remarks by Eddy Hartenstein, Times publisher and CEO, and Kathy Thomson, the newspaper’s president and chief operating officer, the USC Trojan Marching Band took the stage, signaling the official kick-off of the weekend’s festivities.

The event drew many big names in the literary world, including Margaret Atwood, who spoke to a full house at Bovard Auditorium on Saturday afternoon. In her conversation with Michael Silverblatt, host of KCRW’s Bookworm, Atwood, winner of the Times’ 2012 Innovator’s Award, spoke about the future of publishing and the enduring presence of storytellers in society.

“There will always be storytellers because we are a narrative being,” she said.

Atwood remained positive about the future of publishing in the face of technology, particularly when asked about how younger generations flock to e-readers, cellphones and their computers to read, rather than relying on traditional paper books.

“[The Internet] has been a great driver to literacy and information flow,” she said.

Joyce Carol Oates, Anna Quindlen and Carol Burnett were among the other literary heavyweights who spoke at Bovard. And in other buildings around campus, smaller panel discussions were held.

At the USC panels held in Hoffman Hall, for instance, multiple USC faculty members spoke about their latest works.

In Saturday’s hour-long panel titled “Why Did the Writer Cross the Genre,” Dinah Lenney, assistant professor of writing at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, moderated a conversation with fellow writing instructors Bernard Cooper and Sandra Tsing Loh, and Luis Alfaro, assistant professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, about their experiences in writing across genres, including plays, memoirs, essays and novels.

Alfaro, a noted playwright and a MacArthur fellow, admitted that, despite also writing prolifically as a poet, journalist and novelist, “It always comes back to theater.”

Other USC faculty who spoke in the Hoffman Hall panels included USC Dornsife’s Daniela Bleichmar, Robert Scheer of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and Mel Baron of the USC School of Pharmacy.

Read more about the Saturday panels featuring USC Dornsife faculty.

Eight different stages were also set up around campus, including the Target Children’s Stage at McCarthy Quad, which included performances by singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb, writers Jon Klassen and Lemony Snicket, and Roald Dahl’s daughter, screenwriter Lucy Dahl. The Cooking Stage on Cromwell Field featured a cooking demonstration by Olympic ice-skating champion and chef Brian Boitano and an interview with actress Valerie Bertinelli, among other appearances by notable chefs and authors. The Poetry Stage featured readings by the likes of Susan Terris and Kurt Brown, as well as USC’s Dana Gioia, David St. John and Carol Muske-Dukes.

With temperatures reaching into the 80s, festival-goers wandered the campus, exploring the food trucks parked outside Cromwell Field and the numerous booths lining Trousdale Parkway and Childs Way, in addition to filling Alumni Park, Founders Park and Argue Plaza. There, authors shared their latest books, businesses and organizations advertised their services, and local bookstores attracted crowds eager to browse the shelves of books being sold.

Children and their parents gathered for arts and crafts activities at the USC Civic Engagement tent, while in one corner, writers such as Lisa Yee and Laurie Ochoa read from their books to a rapt audience of young readers.

Book lovers of all stripes comb the University Park Campus to meet with authors and browse the shelves to score literary finds. (USC Photo/Dietmar Quistorf)

“We’ve seen a lot of parents coming in here to play with their kids,” said Sean Taitt, a program manager with the USC Kinder to College program, who volunteered at the tent on Saturday. “That’s part of the USC Civic Engagement initiative’s mission: ensuring kids and parents spend quality time together, and instilling the importance of reading and writing.”

The tent saw heavy traffic throughout the day. “It just calmed down a few minutes ago,” said another volunteer, Claudia Zaldivar, who is involved with USC’s Neighborhood Academic Initiative.

The Keck Medical Center of USC’s Health and Wellness Pavilion also attracted a big crowd with its varied offerings. Volunteers taught children proper hand-washing techniques and educated visitors on stress relief and proper eating. In addition, free health and blood pressure screenings were provided at the pavilion.

Nearby, lines formed around the Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC’s booth, where visitors were able to receive free dental screenings.

“It’s been incredibly busy — even with the heat,” said Idalia Munoz, administrative director of perioperative services for Keck Hospital of USC, as she handed out small bottles of sunscreen to visitors.

Early estimates predicted the event would attract upwards of 150,000 people, many of whom traveled to the event via bus and the new Metro Expo Line.

Rizza Gonzales, a lawyer who lives in Culver City, Calif., was among those packed on the Metro early Saturday morning, where, she said, festival-goers chatted enthusiastically with one another, comparing notes on which panels and authors they were most eager to see.

“It was like being with a community of book lovers,” Gonzales said.

This year’s festival was a first for many, including 5-year-old Sofia Santos, who came with her mother, Maria.

The younger Santos, wearing a crown she decorated at a booth in Argue Plaza, said her favorite part of the festival was seeing Scooby Doo. She went home with a 46-piece puzzle of her beloved cartoon character and a bag full of books.

For Jamie Mondal, who came to USC’s campus with her husband and her 6-year-old son, Ari, the best part of the festival was spending time with her family. She and Ari studied the large banner outside one of the booths on Trousdale Parkway, where attendees were encouraged to answer the question, “What are you reading?”

Blue marker in hand, Ari searched for a blank space to add the name of the book he had just finished reading: The Dream Stealer by Sid Fleischman.

“We read together for two hours every night,” Jamie Mondal said. “He just loves reading.”

See the social media coverage of the Festival of Books