{"id":72419,"date":"2026-05-15T16:21:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T23:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/?p=72419"},"modified":"2026-05-20T16:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T23:47:21","slug":"uscs-newest-graduates-bask-in-commencement-joy-at-the-coliseum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.usc.edu\/uscs-newest-graduates-bask-in-commencement-joy-at-the-coliseum\/","title":{"rendered":"USC\u2019s newest graduates bask in commencement joy at the Coliseum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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COMMENCEMENT:<\/strong> Main ceremony filled with inspiration and music celebrates the Class of 2026. Commencement activities continue through Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/span>\n \n

\n June 10, 2026<\/span>\n \n By Greg Hernandez<\/a> and Rachel B. Levin<\/a><\/span>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/div>\n\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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As the iconic flame atop the peristyle of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum blazed on Thursday evening and USC\u2019s 143rd commencement ceremony neared its finale, a surprise guest conductor stepped up to lead the USC Trojan Marching Band\u2019s performance of the alma mater: commencement speaker Gustavo Dudamel<\/a>, music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.<\/p>\n

The crowd of 46,000 roared with approval. But there was one more surprise: USC President Beong-Soo Kim<\/a> joined the band as featured cellist to perform with vocalist Leverett Wilson, a USC Thornton School of Music student.<\/p>\n

It seemed fitting that Dudamel and Kim would embark on personal firsts before the crowd and 11,518 people watching the proceedings via livestream: Both men earlier had encouraged the robe-and-mortarboard-clad graduates in the Coliseum field to not be afraid to go first in life and to use their passions to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n

\"USC
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the USC Trojan Marching Band, with USC President Beong-Soo Kim on cello. (USC Photo\/Brian van der Brug)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe hope you win and win big,\u201d Kim said during his first commencement address<\/a> as USC president. \u201cBut there\u2019s something we wish for you even more than all that. Not just that you come in<\/em> first, but that you\u2019re willing to go<\/em> first by believing in yourself. \u2026 And along the way, you can shape a life that is full of achievement, full of adventure, and that\u2019s uniquely yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI congratulate you for the world that lies ahead of you,\u201d Dudamel said, \u201cfor growing and making real what you are dreaming right now, sitting there \u2026 looking toward the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Commencement<\/a>
.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All told, USC conferred 18,982 degrees this spring \u2014 6,118 undergraduate degrees and 12,864 graduate degrees and certificates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you all for coming together this evening to celebrate our graduates,\u201d Kim said. \u201cNo one arrives at this milestone by themselves. It reflects years of support from parents and grandparents, teachers and mentors, friends and family.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the field, where approximately 8,600 graduates in attendance sat on white folding chairs, the Trojan energy was electric. Members of the Class of 2026 erupted in cheers each time their individual schools were mentioned. Yet seated all together, they weren\u2019t siloed into schools \u00ad\u2014 they were united as one graduating class sharing this rite of passage.<\/p>\n

At times they stood, raised their mortarboards to the sky, flashed \u201cFight On\u201d fingers and waved their hands in the air to demonstrate their enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

\"USC
New graduates show their excitement. (USC Photo\/Brian van der Brug)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the end, thousands of smartphone flashlights in the audience danced in the darkness after the stadium\u2019s floodlights were turned off and the Trojan Marching Band began to play.<\/p>\n

A fleet of drones outfitted with multicolored lights rose above the peristyle. Wild cheers erupted each time the drones configured themselves into familiar imagery such as Tommy Trojan and Traveler and the Fight On sign. They also spelled out \u201cUSC\u201d and \u201cCONGRATS GRADS.\u201d The program concluded with a thundering fireworks finale.<\/p>\n

Four days of festivities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thursday night\u2019s main ceremony was one of more than 100 USC-sponsored events<\/a> taking place over four days. The official Trojan Family commemoration of the Class of 2026 began Wednesday and continued throughout the day Thursday with doctoral hoodings, cultural association celebrations and student-athlete events.<\/p>\n

On Friday, most of the university\u2019s schools held individual ceremonies, with standout speakers including football legend Pete Carroll, punk rocker (and USC doctorate holder) Dexter Holland of The Offspring, author and social justice advocate Sister Helen Prejean and Olympian Lindsey Vonn. Commencement wraps up Saturday with Keck School of Medicine of USC ceremonies and the presentation of master\u2019s degrees by the USC Rossier School of Education.<\/p>\n

The importance of self-belief and overcoming fears<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During his address, Kim pointed to the notable feats of USC graduate and Olympic great Allyson Felix, who is training for the 2028 Olympic Games in her 40s, and of USC Price School of Public Policy graduate Lucy Westlake, the youngest American woman to climb and summit Mount Everest. Westlake has earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was among the graduates on the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour willingness to go first and to push past the natural insecurities we all feel will create opportunities you couldn\u2019t imagine, and just like Allyson or Lucy, you can inspire others, regardless of whether you succeed or fail,\u201d Kim said.<\/p>\n

\"USC
Beong-Soo Kim delivered his first commencement address as USC president. (USC Photo\/Steve Cohn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kim asked everyone in the Coliseum who wasn\u2019t a student \u2014 including the academic deans from USC\u2019s 23 schools and academic units seated behind him \u2014 to raise their hands and wave if they had ever put themselves on the line for a job, a promotion or any opportunity, even though they had never done it before and weren\u2019t sure if they would succeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a new university president, I\u2019ll also raise my hand and say: This may be my first commencement address, but I\u2019ve got this,\u201d he said as the crowd cheered.<\/p>\n

Families share in Trojan pride and joy<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Prior to the start of the ceremony, multigenerational families linked arms and snapped photos together outside of the stadium.<\/p>\n

Pallavi Dashputre traveled from India to see her daughter, Nupur Dashputre, graduate with her master\u2019s degree in computer science from the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s the first in our family to come to another country and to graduate from USC,\u201d the mother said.<\/p>\n

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A night to remember (visit our commencement week photo gallery<\/a> to see more)<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
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