The USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology celebrated more than 200 graduates of its undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs during USC’s 143rd Commencement on May 15, 2026 in Founders Park.
In his welcoming remarks, Dean Pinchas Cohen said the members of the class of 2026 “give us hope for a brighter future for the field in the decades to come.”
“Working across multiple interconnected fields, you will be the leaders who see to it that the foods we eat, the homes and communities we live in, the care we receive, the services we provide, the technology we develop, and the polices we promote all come together to build a new way to age,” Cohen said.
The ceremony’s keynote speaker was alumna Ranyan Lu. She received her PhD in Gerontology in 1998, specializing in biodemography and population health under the mentorship of University Professor Eileen Crimmins. Before her retirement in 2025, Lu achieved a distinguished career in aging and health care services, serving most recently as Vice President of Clinical Performance Measurement and Predictive Analytics at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Lu shared how her life’s journey took her on a path she didn’t predict. While practicing medicine in Beijing, taking part in a World Health Organization surveillance study of cardiovascular disease sparked her curiosity regarding population health, which led to a master’s degree in epidemiology. Her studies fueled a deeper interest in how chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, disproportionately affect older populations, leading to her PhD program at USC. Following graduation, her subsequent research on preventive health care services and clinical operations of health plans prepared her for a career in health care leadership, she explained.
“You are well prepared to engage thoughtfully with the challenges of an aging society. Now is the time to build something uniquely your own upon that foundation,” Lu told graduates. “Let life surprise you. Let it redirect you, even if that something looks different than what you imagined today. Sometimes the best paths and destinations are the ones we never planned to reach.”
This year’s student speaker was Tiffany Wang, senior in human development and aging and president of the Student Gerontology Association. A first-generation college student and a daughter of immigrants, Wang spoke to graduates about how their USC education not only prepared them for fulfilling careers but also the freedom to build their life they way they want.
“USC didn’t just give me answers; it gave me possibility,” she said. “The finish line is not the job offer, not the grad school acceptance, not the white coat. The real finish line is freedom.”
University Honors
Student Recognition Awards
Order of Troy
Mariam Astvatsatrian
Veronica Kuo
Hailey Park
Samantha Schilling
Zachary Song
Order of Arête
Sidney Kalin
Order of the Laurel and the Palm
Tiffany Wang
Renaissance Scholar Distinction
Mariam Astvatsatrian
Marguerite Larson
Discovery Scholar Distinction
Mariam Astvatsatrian
Sophia Hameed
Eric (Jeongeon) Hwang
Sidney Kalin
Veronica Kuo
Marguerite Larson
Hailey Park
Samantha Schilling
Yutong Shao
Zachary Song
Tiffany Wang
USC Leonard Davis School Honors
Osterburg Prize
Eleanor Batista-Malat
Peterson Undergraduate Student Award
Tiffany Wang
Peterson Master’s Student Award
Faith Huss
Peterson Doctoral Student Award
Maxim Averbukh
Dean’s Affiliated Doctoral Student Award
Brandy Weathers
Teaching Assistant Award
Lillian Estenson
Faculty Teaching Award
