To start off Thursday morning’s New Student Convocation, Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni told the crowd of students packed into Alumni Park, just days away from beginning their time at USC, that coming to USC was not the right decision. At least not inherently.

“There are no right decisions, there are only decisions that we make,” Soni said. “As you become a member of the Trojan family today, may you make your decision to attend USC the right decision for you by fully embracing the things that you can control as you embark upon your extraordinary new journey.”

Thursday morning’s convocation was the first at Alumni Park since Fall 2023, occurring roughly two weeks after interim President Beong-Soo Kim announced that the fencing that surrounded the park following the Spring 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment protests would stay down. The Fall 2024 ceremony took place at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum while the Spring 2025 event was at Bovard Auditorium after getting delayed by wildfires.

Interim president welcomes class

Monique Rivera, a freshman majoring in psychology, called convocation “awe-inspiring” and said the ceremony and the surrounding Welcome Week events have been a great introduction to campus and her class.

“Convocation, in and of itself, is just a testament to how much the University cares about its students,” Rivera said. “It’s interesting to think about all the people that I’m going to get to know and all the connections I’m going to make through USC.”

In Kim’s first convocation remarks as interim president, he said the Trojan network is strong and told students to embrace the different perspectives and backgrounds in their roughly 8,700-person admit class.

Kim also told a story about how award-winning filmmaker Ryan Coogler and acclaimed composer Ludwig Göransson, who have worked together on the films “Black Panther” (2018) and “Creed” (2015), met at USC. He said the two are an example of the benefits of being open to new experiences: They entered USC with such different personalities that they would not have been matched by USC’s roommate algorithm “in 100 years,” Kim said, but still went on to become an influential duo in Hollywood.

“Not all of you may go on to win an Academy Award with your roommate, but each of you will encounter people here at USC who will change your lives,” Kim said. “While it’s easy to shy away from all these different perspectives, leaning into them can open up so many new pathways and possibilities. Maybe you’ll change your mind about something, or maybe you’ll change someone else’s.”

‘Find your people, build your village’

Three current and former students also spoke before the incoming class was serenaded by compliments from their respective deans and a performance of the alma mater.

Bobby Pinckney, a 2020 business administration graduate who founded multiple AI-related platforms, encouraged the incoming freshmen to push the boundaries of what freshmen can do by applying to clubs, taking research opportunities and learning new things.

“When someone says, ‘Freshmen don’t usually do that,’ just smile. Their experience may already be expired,” Pinckney said. “That uncertainty you feel, it’s real, but it’s also your edge. You don’t need to see the whole pattern, just trust yourself to take the next step.”

Mikaela Bautista, president of the Undergraduate Student Government and a senior majoring in business administration, recalled pulling an all-nighter at Leavey Library, running a marathon and taking part in research as some highlights from her time at the University thus far. But, more than any action, she said she remembered the people she was with and the friends she made.

Graduate Student Government president Janielle Cuala, who moved from Guam to L.A. to study medical biophysics at USC, felt similarly and said it is important to create a support system for yourself while living in a drastically different environment.

“Find your people, build your village,” Cuala said.