The Good Neighbors Campaign will mark its 20th anniversary in October.  More than 5,500 USC faculty and staff members set a record last year, raising more than $1.7 million.

The funding supports longtime partnerships the university has established in the community as part of the annual initiative overseen by USC Civic Engagement.

Last year’s campaign funded programs that enhanced educational opportunities, promoted good health and fitness, improved safety, and supported job training and economic development.

One of the many beneficiaries is USC Science, Technology and Research (STAR), a collaborative education program directed by Roberta Diaz Brinton, holder of the R. Pete Vanderveen Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development.

Former STAR students returned to the Health Sciences Campus earlier this month to mark the program’s 25th anniversary. The group included an orthopaedic surgeon, an AIDS researcher, a family physician, a hospital pharmacist, a White House policy intern and a medical scientist who studies brain tumors, among others.

“STAR taught me how to work in a lab and alongside a lab team,” said Elvia Ahmed, now a student a Princeton University. “I remember hearing Dr. Brinton talk with such passion during my first day in the lab, and I figured I also wanted to be a neuroscientist.”

More stories about: Community Outreach, Good Neighbors Campaign