with 360 degrees rotation. “Now

I understand why it is called In-

sanity. It is crazy but awesome,” See Orange County Fair on p. 3

By MATT SUN, LEO WU,

and JINGYI WANG

Language Academy tu-

dents went to the famous Or-

ange County Fair for their

third Language Academy

activity last Saturday. They

were really excited because

this was the first all-day-long

activity.

The OC Fair is a big

event consisting of various

elements, among which the

rides must be ranked as the

most thrilling ones. There is a

variety of rides, and most of

them will be beyond your

expectation.

If you want to challenge

yourself, the OC Fair has the

terrifying free-fall drop ma-

chine which carries you to the

top of a meters-high tower

then suddenly drops down in

free-falling speed. You can

also try a ride named Insanity

which revolves in high speed

Third Street Promenade Friday, July 26, 2013 1:30PM-6:00PM If you signed up for this activity, meet in JEF Courtyard at 1:30pm. If you have not checked in by 1:45PM, we will give your place to someone on the waiting list. The Third Street Promenade is an upscale shopping, dining and entertainment sec-tion of downtown Santa Monica. Please bring cash if you plan on eating or shop-ping.

Hawaiian Luau Party and Group Picture Friday, August 2, 2013 Come experience Hawai'i in our very own JEF Courtyard. Become a hula or Tahitian dance master, compete with your Lan-guage Academy friends in the hula hoop and limbo contests, enjoy Hawaiian per-formances, and feast on delicious Hawai-ian food! We will take a group picture after the performances. Sign-up at 12:00PM in JEF Courtyard ($5 payment).

Fun at Orange County Fair

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Language

Labs

2/

3

Driving in Los

Angeles

4

Kazakh

Wedding

5

Sunday

Brunch

6

Quiet Time on

Mountaintop

6

Volunteer

Work

7

Pics of the

Week

8

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

The Academy News J U L Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 5 6 , I S S U E 4

Check out The Academy News online: www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Information” and then click on “The Academy News.”

Looking for a car. Here are some tips for getting a good deal on p. 4.

Find out how to call home for the cheap-est rates . See p. 7.

Students won minions at the game booths at the Orange County Fair.

IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice

speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.

Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are

you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT

Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam

Tuesday, July 30th

Time Location Description Facilitator

12:30-1:30pm

KAP 150

IELTS Prep Lab (Levels 2-5)

James Hutzell Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

THH 107

Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week

Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 1, 2 & 3)

John Esposito Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1

Liza USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2

Belen USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Lucy

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Demetri

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 5 Jay

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

GFS 104 GRE/GMAT Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Jeminah Jones

Faculty

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Lucy

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Blaire

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Demetri

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 5 Liza

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Jay

USC Student

P A G E 2

REMINDER: Last Chance to Attend

Language Labs

Next week is the last week for Language Labs! You must sign-up online this weekend in order to be

registered. In order to be eligible for an A in your oral skills class, you must attend at least one Language

Lab.

P A G E 3

Orange County Fair Continued from p. 1

Haoming Zhang said after he tried this ride

and being hung in the air for five minutes.

The terrifying rides are too challeng-

ing for you? Don’t worry. There are nu-

merous games worth a try. Buying ten

tickets with $5, you will get a chance to

win the cutest stuffed toy ever---the min-

ion in the famous cartoon film Despicable

Me. If none of the games attract you, then

what about the food? OC Fair collects the

most delicious food in the country: sau-

sages, mountain of curly fries, cakes,

baked corns, lemonade juice, you name it!

As for the shopaholics, there is also a big

mall selling high quality clothes and bags

for reasonable prices.

This is not all about the OC Fair.

There are more interesting activities wait-

ing ahead. Have you heard of All-Alaskan

Racing Pigs? They are a team of the fastest

and funniest athletes to serve up entertain-

ment in the OC Fair events. When the pigs

started to run, Mike yelled “Unbelievable!

They are really fast with their tiny limbs.”

More surprisingly, these little creatures

could jump over the hurdle which is two

times taller than themselves. “It is the fun-

niest race I have ever seen. I really enjoyed

it,” said Jingyi.

With a long history (since 1890), the

OC Fair is also a great chance for us to

experience American culture. “This fair

contains a little bit of everything” said

Elin, “It is great fun just to walk around

and soak up the atmosphere.”

Thursday, August 1st

Time Location Description Facilitator

12:30-1:30pm

GFS 104 GRE Prep Lab (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

Peter Guekguezian Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

THH 107 Statement of Purpose (Levels 4, 5 & 6) Limited to 1 time per week

Marisa Garcia-Crocker Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

VKC 204 Grammar Q & A (Levels 4, 5 & 6)

John Esposito Faculty

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1

Liza USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2

Belen USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Jay

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Demetri

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 5 Blaire

USC Student

12:30pm-1:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 1 Blaire

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 2 Belen

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Level 3 Demetri

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 4 Rachel

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard

Conversation Level 5 Liza

USC Student

1:30pm-2:30pm

JEF Courtyard Conversation Levels 6 Jay

USC Student

IELTS Preparation: Test Overview—In this lab, you’ll have the opportunity to learn tips and tricks on how to ace the IELTS test. This week we’ll discuss the overview of the test. Conversation Practice—Practice

speaking English by level with USC students. This is an interactive discussion in which you will participate in group discussions about several interesting topics. This is your opportunity to practice speaking and to ask questions.

Statement of Purpose

Workshop (Levels 4-6): Learn how to write an amazing SOP for graduate school. Grammar Q & A—Are

you confused by the rules of English grammar? Come to the Grammar Question and Answer lab for help with your grammar questions! GRE/GMAT

Preparation (Levels 4-6): Find out the best ways to succeed on the new exam

P A G E 4

By XI KANG (SILVIA)

and YUAN FENG

Los Angeles is a fascinating city

with lots of interesting places awaiting

you to explore. You can reach Holly-

wood, Disneyland, Long Beach as well

as many fabulous places within an

hour’s driving from USC. Since the pub-

lic transportation here in Los Angeles is

not very satisfying, having a car is of

great necessity. There are only a few

steps before you can get your driver

license and have your own car.

Getting Your Driver’s License

You can either sign up at the DMV

(Department of Motor Vehicles) website

to make an appointment for your written

test and then take your test on the ap-

pointment date or go to the department

to take your written test without reserva-

tion. By making an appointment, you

can avoid waiting in the queue for a long

time. Do not forget to bring your valid

ID with you when you go to DMV.

Before taking the written test, you

can review the traffic rules by reading

the brochure provided by DMV or do

some practice online. The written test

includes some multiple choice questions.

Having fewer than six incorrect answers

in the test indicates that you have passed

the written test and you will receive a

“Learner’s Permit” after the physical

examination. With that permit, you can

practice driving on road under the in-

struction of a tutor or someone with a

driver license.

For international students who al-

ready have their driver’s license before

coming to the U.S., they can get a tem-

porary driver’s license after passing the

written test. Typically, the temporary

license allows them to drive legally up

to three months, but they have to take

another driving test before getting their

official driver license.

The driving test requires an ap-

pointment in advance. There is a

evaluator from the DMV sitting next to

you and giving you instructions. You

just need to follow the instructions and

try your best to make fewer than fifteen

mistakes so that you can pass the exam.

The driving test includes driving, park-

ing, turning and the test of driver's capa-

bility to obey the traffic rules. If you

pass the driving test, you can receive

your official driver’s license in two

weeks.

Buying a Used Car

Having your license in your hand,

next it is time for you to get your own

car. An economic used car in good con-

dition is always a better choice for stu-

dents like us. Here is some information

you should know about the process of

purchasing a used car.

First of all, you can choose either to

buy a used car from a dealer or a private

party. Each has advantages and disad-

vantages. Dealers are generally more

responsible and required by law to en-

sure a car has been sold under a good

condition. However, the prices are usu-

ally higher than purchasing from an

owner.

Buying from an owner, in contrast,

often cost less, but the condition of the

car is not guaranteed. One of the biggest

websites where you can find used cars is

Craigslist. On the website, you can ei-

ther find the cars sold by a dealer or an

owner. It is easy to navigate those web-

sites: just type your requirement of a

used car and the websites will list all the

possible deals that meet your needs.

Once you pick the cars that you are

interested, you can start to contact the

sellers to schedule an appointment for a

test drive. There are two things that you

need to remember before you go for the

testing drive. First, ask the seller to pro-

vide the VIN number and the CARFAX

report for the car. If the seller doesn’t

provide a CARFAX report, you can buy

the report online. Those documents pro-

vide detailed information about the cars

that you’re interested in. If it shows

“salvage” on the report, it means the car

has a serious damage and you need to

look for others. Second, request the

seller to provide smog check history. In

California, the seller is required to pro-

vide a certificate of check no later than

90 days.

After you have a full knowledge of

the cars’ conditions, you can schedule an

appointment and go to see the cars for a

test drive. While you are driving, pay

attention to the brake, listen the sound of

the engine, and other noises throughout

the test drive. After driving, check the

AC, windows, radio, CD, etc.. Before

you made your final decision, take the

car to do a final evaluation and check

the price value on Kelly Blue Book.

Before you pay your bill, make sure

the registration is current and the Certifi-

cate of Title (pink slip) is cleaned. If

your car is purchased from a dealer, you

don’t need to worry about the title trans-

formation process. The dealer will take

care of that. However, if you get it from

an owner, you should remember to re-

port ownership change to DMV and to

pay the fees within 30 days after your

purchase.

Last but not least, don’t forget to

get a valuable insurance before driving

your car.

Reference

Buying a Used Car – Tips & Scams to Avoid. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://

www.carbuyingtips.com/used.htm

Are You Ready to Explore L.A. by Car?

P A G E 5

By YERKANAT ZAITOV

Weddings in Kazakhstan are cele-

brated noisily, bright, and on a grand

scale often turning into a festival lasting

days, or even weeks, with more than a

dozen families, relatives and friends. In

August I will be lucky enough to attend

as a groomsman the fabulous wedding

of my brother. Before I arrive home let

me introduce some Kazakh wedding

traditions and customs.

Not many people know that Ka-

zakhs celebrate two ceremonies: one

from the bride’s family and another the

main wedding from groom’s family.

Before the first ceremony, the groom’s

family and closest relatives all together

visit the bride’s family for a matchmak-

ing custom with many gifts for each

member of her family. This custom is

called “Kuda Tuser,” a ritual courtship

of bride.

The bride hands a petition to her

parents. In agreement with the relatives

of the bride, a day shall be appointed

when the closest relatives of the groom

headed by the Chief matchmaker come

to ask the bride's hands.

Very interesting is the custom of

meeting matchmakers, who greet each

other with the words, "Who are you?

Who should go?" in the form of a half-

joking and they are sure to throw

"Shashu" - a candy and sweets.

"Shashu" - this is a mandatory attribute

of any celebration. This gesture means

hospitality and gives a sense of celebra-

tion and is accompanied by fun.

The candy is collected and given to

children with a wish in the future to

become a party to such a celebration (it

is said: "Zhugysty Bolsyn" – “Wish you

the same in the nearest future”).

Upon entering the house of the

bride, the groom meet Zhenge

(daughters-in-law, wives of elder broth-

ers), who jokingly question him, search

his pockets, coming up with different

tests. Usually in advance for them, the

groom places trinkets, coins, and more

recently - money. The matchmakers

meeting turns into a cheerful hubbub.

Music is played, especially the Dombra

(Kazakh national instrument).

Arriving guests are seated at the

place of honor at Dastarkhan (at the

table) and there begins the acquaintance

with representatives of both sides. At

the same time, a playful tone always

remains. The general merriment contin-

ues, passing in the beautiful songs and

games.

After the father of the bride pub-

licly agrees to the marriage of his

daughter, a special dish is served—

Kuyryk-Bauyr" with pieces of boiled

liver "- (bauyr) and slices of boiled

fatty tail (kuyryk) from the slaughtered

sheep. The bride's parents feed their

matchmakers, the parents of the bride,

and fasten a new sibling alliance be-

tween matchmakers. After the completion of the repre-

sentatives of the groom feast open

"Korzhyn" - a bag of gifts for the

matchmakers. Most often it is a beauti-

ful decoration for the female half of the

bride and gifts for others. The cousin of

the bride to the groom wears earrings -

"Syrga tagu", which confirms the status

of the bride. At the end of the feast,

before leaving, the groom's parents are

presented gifts to the response - "kyit."

In modern society, the gifts may be-

beautifully embroidered cha-

pans” (national coat with ornaments)

and hats with a national ornament.

Later, a ceremony is held in the

house of the After everything is done

in chronological order bride’s family

decides the correct date of first wedding

ceremony - seeing the bride from the

parental home – “Kiz Uzatu”. For this

celebration, traditionally the bride

chooses a national wedding dress - Toy

koylek, kamzol and saukele. Modern

girls can choose an evening dress. Sau-

kele - symbolic head dress for the Ka-

zakhs. The bride bids farewell to a care-

free life in the walls of his home.

Usually the ceremony takes place

in large restaurant with all of the bride’s

family, relatives, friends, coworkers,

and everyone who is very close to

bride’s family, and this ceremony tells

that everyone should walk her out to the

new family.

After the first ceremony, the main

party takes place. The groom’s family

invites all their relatives, friends and

everyone close to them and usually the

approximate number of guests is from

200 to over 500. By the evening they

are arriving to the restaurant where all

guests are gathering already and waiting

for the main celebration. Every guest

will get chance to wish them a tons of

warm words and all of them will have

unforgettable memory because Kazakh

ceremonies are always passing very

colorful, memorable, wonderful and all

of invited people are participating in it.

I hope this description helps you to

imagine how Kazakh wedding ceremo-

nies take place.

Welcome to Kazakh Wedding Ceremony

The Kazakh bride and groom wear traditional clothes for their wedding ceremonies.

P A G E 6

By FITSUM FANTA

The Alpine Camp and Conference

Center is a tranquil campground full of wonders and adventure that take you away from the bustling city of L.A. Es-tablished in 1930’s, the campground started its roots in an L.A. like lifestyle, a vacation getaway for the Hollywood stars, like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

After almost a decade of closure, Alpine reopened through a ministry service in 1957. This weekend it was home to the Ethiopian Young Adult Ministry yearly retreat.

Alpine Camp, located in the moun-tains of Blue Jay, above 5000 ft high, Alpine can serve almost year round, for campers to take advantage of the natural resources of California. Adding new ways to seek adventure, Alpine

now has a high ropes course with a zip-line and climbing tower that reaches over 35 feet into the trees, the highest natural climb in the western hemi-sphere.

The program called “Higher Ground” is designed for small groups to enhance teamwork and problem-solving skills all while gaining trust,

imagination, and understanding risk taking. “Higher Ground” is used for groups ranging from corporate adults to at risk teenagers hoping to gain self-confidence. There are also basketball courts, swimming pool and soccer field to enjoy activities. For those who love hiking, the mountain gives ideal topog-raphical views. Still so much more with meeting rooms, a chapel, and food service for all three meals for group activities.

Thanks to the beautiful and silent environment, you will forget you are only 90 minutes from Los Angeles when you are at Alpine. Whenever you want to breath air instead of smog or hear nothing instead of traffic, think about Alpine camp retreat which could a smart choice.

By ZHAKA SHULENBAYEVA

Omelets, Egg’s Benedict, Pan-

cakes, French Toasts, Bacon, Mi-mosas, Bloody Mary’s. All these meals you can find in the special Sunday Brunch menu in many res-taurants in Los Angeles.

Sunday Brunch is the perfect de-cision for those who like to sleep longer on the weekend and miss the breakfast time but could not wait until lunch. The word “brunch” is made from “breakfast” and “lunch,” and it takes the best parts of each of them. The hit dish of the brunch menu is Egg’s Benedict, which is the muffins topped with ham or ba-con, poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. A legend says that Mr. Le-muel Benedict requested the combi-nation of poached eggs, Canadian bacon, English muffins, and Hollan-daise sauce in order to recover from a hangover. Therefore, the chef rec-ognized the dish’s delicious poten-tial,and it’s been a brunch classic ever since.

Here are some places close to USC where I usually have Sunday brunch.

The nice and cute café Jack and Joe, which is located on Figue-roa and Adams can make your Sun-day special because you can make your own omelet and actually watch how it is going to be cooked.

The second place that you probably should visit is Original Pantry Café, which is on Figueroa and Ninth street, next to LA Live. This place was opened a long time

ago; when you are there, you can feel the old traditional American spirit while you are enjoying fresh-made pancakes with maple syrup.

If you are interested in the French cuisine, the origin of brunch, which I believe so, you should stop by Gourmet Crepe X-press Café on Grand street and Sixth Street. The chef is a cheerful person who not only loves USC students, but also cooks amazing crepes.

The next place is well known, IHOP, where you can find different kinds of pancakes. The nearest IHOP is located on Flower Street and Street.

In case you have a sweet tooth, you might love the place on the Spring Street and Seventh Street. “Syrup” is the café where you can always eat fresh blubbery sand-wiches or Belgian waffles with nutella and strawberry.

So, my next Sunday is going to start with the smell of fresh brewed coffee and the taste of topped muf-fins in eggs. What about you?

Special Sunday Brunch

Quiet Time on Mountaintop

Eggs Benedict is a brunch favorite.

Alpine Camp is a quiet mountain retreat.

P A G E 7

By YATING ZHAO (EVELYN)

Business leaders and careerists mixed

and mingled at the annual LA’s Largest

Mixer, a business networking event held

on Thursday, July 18, at the Shrine Audi-

torium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

L.A.’s Largest Mixer is an event where

professionals representing companies of

all shapes, sizes and industries converge

for the ultimate business working experi-

ence. It was a good opportunity for me, a

fresh USC student who still knows very

little about Los Angeles, to get a close

look at local business and start-ups.

The Shrine Auditorium is located op-

posite to Gate 4 of USC and is only a five

-minute walk from Leavey library. When

I arrived at the events, hundreds of busi-

ness people and representatives from

leading industries had already showed up

and were busy preparing their booths.

Meanwhile, attendees were coming in

continuously.

I volunteered to help MAYO, a leading

public relation company in LA, set up

their three booths: LA Mixer booth, red

carpet booth, and MAYO communication

booth. During the event, I was responsi-

ble for the red carpet booth, printing or

identifying people that get their photos

taken on the red carpet.

Although those were all very simple

jobs, I really had great fun and made it a

worthwhile experience. It was also a great

opportunity to connect with people that I

could follow up later for job openings.

As international students, you may

sometimes feel distant from local people

and events happening around you. One

thing you can do is to explore a more

colorful world by yourself. Opportunities

are there if you are seeking them actively,

from your seniors, from networking web-

sites and from anywhere that you can

think of. This is a good way for us to

adapt to our life here quickly and interact

with people from diverse backgrounds.

Here is some information about finding

voluntary work which may be useful to

you:

www.volunteermatch.org

www.volunteerlosangeles.org

www.laworks.com

Fresh Volunteer Work Experience in Mixer Event

The Chinese Girl By SCARLETT CHEN

If Yuan hadn’t talked to me, I would

never have known she studied at Univer-

sity of Missouri in St. Louis. I did notice

she was taller than most of the other girls

in Language Academy, but I would

never have guessed that she used to be a

professional basketball player.

Yuan Feng is from Xi’an, China—a

city that is well known for the terracotta

warriors. She loves clothes from Hollis-

ter and always wears a pair of light ash-

colored TOM’s shoes. She rides her bike

to commute from her apartment to

classes. She loves USC and is excited

about her new life as a Trojan. “I want to

be a journalist, ” Feng said. “I love the

feeling of digging out news from other

people.”

Feng loves to explore, not only in

finding news, but also in searching for

delicious food, especially Asian food. “I

really miss the food in Xi’an,” she said.

Feng is a gourmet. She studies hard at

Language Academy, but she also works

hard on where to try new food. She gets

most of her information online, where

she uses her journalism skills to research.

For the future, Feng wants to be a

sports reporter so that she can combine

her passion in sports and journalism.

With her background playing basketball

in both China and the U.S., she will re-

port the sports news in the world plat-

form.

___________________________

Calling Home By ALLEN TIAN

When I ask my friends about how

often they call their parents, most of

them would say they do not call much.

Instead, WeChat, QQ, Facebook, Mi-

croblog or other mobile Apps have be-

come their favorites when communicat-

ing with Mom and Dad.

Living in a mobile era is the best

thing that has ever happened to such App

fans that spend the whole day posting

photos, videos or “liking” strangers with

their smartphones. I am an old-fashioned

guy with no particular addiction to those

fancy things, so I call.

The way I call back home is updat-

ing. For the first several days after land-

ing on American soil, I called my parents

using my China Mobile SIM card. The

rate was about $0.15/min. Later, things

got better as my new Verizon iPhone 5

arrived. I could call at $0.06/min accord-

ing to the contract. Of course, App is

also another way. Skype is one of the

handy ones, but it requires either Wi-Fi

or a computer, and the cost is a horrible

$0.23/min. Finally, after trying various

means, I found the perfect service in the

world: the Google Voice.

Cheap and easy is how I describe

it. All you need is a Google account with

an activated Google Voice number. After

adding money to your account, the only

places you are unable to reach will be the

Antarctic and the Arctic Poles then. You

can simply call via your phone, without

requirements for Wi-Fi or computer or

anything.

To call both landlines and mobiles

in China, the price is a surprising $0.02/

min. It’s even cheaper than calling

within China. This does not only apply to

China. If you want to casually talk to

your friends in UK, Germany, Japan,

Brazil or wherever else, you can always

reach them with your Google Voice.

So, bothered by how to call back

home? Google Voice helps you to hear

“hello” from your loved ones in a better

way.

USC Language

Academy

Rossier School of

Education

Phone: 213-740-0080

Fax: 213-740-0088

Web: www.usc.edu/langacad

Pics of the Week

The Academy News is a weekly newsletter pro-duced by students in the Journalism Elective of the USC Language Academy. All students in the Lan-guage Academy Program are encouraged to send news stories and photos to Sonja Lovelace at slove-lac@usc.edu.

Check out The Academy News online at www.usc.edu/langacad.Go to “Student Informa-

tion” and then click on “The Academy News.”

P A G E 8 J U L Y 2 6 , 2 0 1 3

New Editor of The

Academy News

Valeria Wei, the new editor

of The Academy News, comes

from China. She holds a BA in

Italian from Communication

University of China. During col-

lege she studied in Italy for one

and a half years as an exchange

student. She graduated in 2011.

Before joining the Trojan family,

she worked for the magazine

Cosmopolitan (China Edition) in

Beijing. After Summer Session B

she is going to continue her edu-

cation for a masters’ degree in

Strategic Public Relations in

Annenberg School for Commu-

nication and Journalism.

THE ACADEMY NEWS STAFF

Editor: Valeria Wei

Assistant Editor: Leo Wu

Reporters: Faisal Almutairi, Zhiqi (Scarlett) Chen, Shangyi Cheng, Fitsum

Fanta, Yuan Feng, Xi (Silvia) Feng, Ranran Li, Zijun (Mike) Lu, Peiyang Shi, Zhaka Shulenbayeva, Mingxu Sun, Lun (Allen) Tian, Jingyi Wang, Yumeng

(Valeria) Wei, Daojun (Leo) Wu, Meiyi Yu, Weiwei (Vivian) Yu, Yerkanat

Zaitov, Assyl Zhakupov, Yating (Evelyn) Zhao

Language Academy students went to the Orange County Fair last Saturday. The pig

races were one of the highlights of the trip. Game booths, rides, and food were all part

of the fun. The weather helped with cooler temperatures that day.