The saying “Trojan for life” was embodied on Friday, June 17 at the USC Gould School of Law’s annual Golden Years Reunion. Dozens of graduates from pre-1961 classes came back to campus to celebrate their 50-plus years as alumni.
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| Currents students and members of the Trojan Marching Band performed at the event, and got a chance to talk with the alumni. |
When Sherman Grancell ’33 began as a law student, after earning a bachelor’s degree from UCLA, USC was barely 50 years old, and the famous statue of Tommy Trojan had just been erected. At 101 years old andthe oldest attendee of this year’s Golden Years Reunion, Grancell said that he looks forward to the reunion each year. He has other ties to USC as well, and donates to the USC Thorton School of Music in honor of his wife, who was a Thorton student. His son, Norin Grancell, graduated from USC Law in 1967.
Ruth Lavine ’43, who attends the reunion every year, was one of the relatively few women of her generation to attend law school. She said that because she was afforded such an amazing opportunity, she set up a scholarship for future law students to honor her husband, Richard Lavine, whom she met while studying at USC. As one of USC Law’s oldest alumni, Lavine recognizes the change in diversity.
“When I attended, most of the students were local, and you hardly ever met someone who wasn’t from California,” says Lavine. Now, she is proud that USC is one of the most diverse campuses in the U.S., boasting the highest number of international students of any university
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| Sherman Grancell '33 (left), and Ruth Lavine '43 (second from right) enjoy the reunion with their fellow golden alumni. |
Other attendees commented on the ever-evolving opportunities afforded by the many generous benefactors who have donated since the inauguration of USC President C. L. Max Nikias last year.
Harold Wax ’51 said that although the campus is evolving every day, the Trojan family and the USC experience remains steadfast. Growing up in the neighborhood, Wax’s first encounter with USC was at the age of eight, when he bought his first USC football ticket with a quarter his uncle gave him. “That’s when I knew I’d be a Trojan, and I’d be a Trojan forever.”
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