CENTER FOR ENGINEERING DIVERSITY

CED has created opportunities for me to meet companies in the tech space for prospective career positions. My Viterbi experience has been enhanced by CED's networking events which further connects engineering graduate students to one another.

The Center for Engineering Diversity has provided me with a 'backbone' that I can always rely on. Additionally, it has helped me to build my network and become familiar with extremely wonderful people within the Viterbi School of Engineering.

The Center for Engineering Diversity equips me with resources needed to get internships and research positions. Most importantly, CED helps foster a community among women and minorities, empowering each other to become better engineers.

CED is a huge part of my experience in Viterbi. I have been a part of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) for 2 years now and is part of my weekly routine at USC. It is where I have made many of my friendships in Viterbi. SHPE is also how I have been able to get an internship this summer.

The Center for Engineering Diversity has been in my corner since arriving at USC. From programming to recruitment events to just being a safe space where I can vent when things get stressful. The center and its staff have been an incredible resource to have through out my graduate experience.

CED has been an invaluable academic and social resource during my time at Viterbi. CED is one of my go-to study locations - it has ample comfortable seating, is conveniently located near my classes, and maintains a good level of ambient noise for getting work done. It's also a very social setting - I can work on group projects, or even just chat with friends there, which I can't do in the libraries. Perhaps a silly metaphor, but for me CED is like a coffee shop - it's comfortable, lively, and still allows for serious work productivity.

I have been able to see a new insight on how different everyone's life really is. I saw the similarities and differences of people's personal problems and how they handled such obstacles. It was also enlightening to see how the collaboration of people with so many differences can actually be achieved. I gained a new perspective and a new family.

CED has been a great place to find a community within Viterbi. I can always walk into CED and see people I know and at the same time have a place to study, print or just hang out until my next class. As a freshman I also participated in the mentorship program and that really helped me adjust to college life and I have since become a mentor!

CED has given me a place to see familiar faces, friends, and family. CED has provided me a community like no other, where I have met like-minded individuals who provide a sense of comfort, but who also challenge me to be the best student and engineer possible. Coming from a predominately Hispanic hometown, my middle and high school classmates and I were always able to relate to each others' family stories, backgrounds, and struggles. During my first few months at USC, it was incredibly difficult for me to feel at home in classrooms where almost no one looked like me - a daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants. CED is where I first felt at home on USC's campus. It is through the friendships I have made in CED that I have been able to learn about and join other Viterbi professional and co-curricular organizations. CED changed the entire trajectory of my college experience at USC, and for this I am forever grateful.