Kristin Pagano JD '13 is ready to rally the Trojans in Chicago. As Chair of the local USC Gould Alumni Association committee, her goal is to organize a variety of events that bring together fellow grads to recapture some of the camaraderie of their student days on campus.
"I really want to start something and get as much participation from the alumni community as possible," she said during a week off from work as counsel at Salesforce, a cloud-based customer relationship management software company (co-founded by USC Marshall alumnus Marc Benioff BS '86).
Pagano, who grew up in the suburbs of the Windy City, transferred to USC Gould as a 2L. "I found that everyone at Gould made me feel like I was part of the community there and it was a very smooth transition," she said. "I feel like I want to give back any way I can because that made a big impact on me."
Many things combined to make Pagano's Gould experience exceptional, from courses and internships to mentor lunches and alumni homecoming tailgating events. "I just got so much out of it," she said.
"It is great that there is such a large and tight-knit alumni network in L.A., and I really valued all the events that gave students the chance to interact with alumni," she said. "Talking with alumni helped me to understand what other people's experiences were. I didn't want to limit myself, and I wanted to make sure I explored different opportunities."
Pagano participated in an externship during her 2L year with the Directors Guild of America and an internship during her 2L summer with the San Diego County District Attorney's Office that ultimately led to a job after graduation.
And, to this day, she still references some of her classes, especially Real Estate Law and Business and Real Estate Finance Problems with Professor George Lefcoe and Limited Liability Corporations with Professor Michael Chasalow. "Those courses in particular stand out to me because they provided a great deal of practical knowledge and the professors were very impactful," she said.
For Chicago alumni, Pagano is planning to organize after-work mix and mingle events and tailgates to support Trojan athletic teams. "And I want to plan volunteer events on the weekends because I really think it's important to give back to our community in Chicago," said Pagano, who volunteers with the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago, where she participates in the Lawyers in the Classroom program, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
It's a testament to her Trojan spirit that Pagano is so eager to spearhead this engagement effort. She is certainly busy at Salesforce. "Primarily, I support our sales and professional services teams and structure commercial transactions and draft and negotiate agreements," she said. "I enjoy working directly with the business, and it's also a very fast-paced environment. There is always something new going on, so it's exciting."
And with a 2-year-old at home, it's amazing that she can find a spare minute. But she does, happily. "I'm very grateful for the opportunities I had at Gould and excited to help build an active alumni community in the Chicago area."
Alumni who are interested in participating in the USC Gould Alumni Association Chicago Committee may contact Kristin at chicagoalumni@law.usc.edu.
