Gitika Pahwa is proud of the community she’s built for herself at USC. “I have an incredibly diverse network of thoughtful, brilliant people to celebrate and learn from!” From design thinking to comedy and social work, Pahwa has made the most of her college experience. As she enters her post-IYA chapter, the perpetual planner is “embracing the ambiguity of adulthood.” Pahwa’s letting us in on her goals after graduation, including the hope of cultivating meaningful social interactions for young people. Plus, she shares a little known fact about how she spends her free time analyzing popular music lyrics. 

Tell us a little bit about your journey to the Academy.

I was always a generalist --  I used to identify needs in my community first, then learn the necessary concepts to build the right solution. I never wanted to feel limited by a specific skillset, but rather stay adaptable to the diverse set of problems I cared about solving. My experience with design thinking in high school enabled me to run a climate policy campaign, develop a women’s safety app, and redesign educational tools for accessibility— yet it was difficult to imagine a university setting where I could remain this broad. I figured the only viable option was to double (maybe even triple!) major at a school with many offerings. That is, until my mother searched up the right keywords in Google and told me about a new program that came up as a result. It took me ten minutes on the Academy website to realize that it was my dream school.

 What piece of advice have you implemented in your day-to-day life?

My father taught me the importance of duty growing up – that every responsibility I take on should be performed to the best of my ability. It’s a fairly simple concept, but one that I am conscious of in my day-to-day life. I try to approach every role that I have, from student to comedy writer, with a sense of commitment.

Do you have a role model? Why do you look up to them?

Yes! I reached out to Professor Colin Maclay after reading about his work at the Annenberg Innovation Lab my freshman year. I have been fortunate enough to both work with and learn from him since then. 

I am inspired by his multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to solving some of society’s greatest challenges. He seeks perspective from all stakeholders of an issue—whether it’s an activist, researcher, or corporation—and identifies opportunities for change. He knows when to be imaginative versus pragmatic, a quality which I admire immensely. 

Describe one thing most people don’t know about you.

I close-read popular songs like they’re classic literature. I have notebooks full of my own lyric interpretations, along with reviews from music journalists and research on related historical or social themes as context. I may or may not be a Genius annotator… 

What is the biggest risk you have taken, and was the result what you wished for?

My family and I took repeated risks with my education—from a parent-participation elementary school (with no textbooks or grades!) to USC Iovine and Young Academy before the first cohort had graduated. The hope was that these environments would sustain my love of learning and inspire creative problem solving in whatever field I ultimately chose to pursue. In that sense, I believe we succeeded. 

What would you say is your defining achievement thus far?

I am proud of the community that I have built for myself. Every single project or activity, regardless of the outcome, has resulted in at least one good friend or mentor. I have an incredibly diverse network of thoughtful, brilliant people to celebrate and learn from! I feel this most on days when I bump into peers from my entrepreneurship organization, social work classes, the campus satirical newspaper, and freshman dorm all on Trousdale. 

I’ll start with the more obvious one: you should absolutely take advantage of your time here. People are eager to connect with students like yourself because they recognize the impact they can have at this stage in your life. Learn as much as you possibly can over the next four years—I’m not sure people are as invested in helping others do this after they leave school.

I would also encourage you to make every semester slightly different—very rarely do you have the opportunity to change your routine, involvements, academic focus, etc. as frequently as the college structure allows one to do. Take each new beginning as permission to switch it up and learn something new about yourself.

How have you evolved over the past four years?

I came into freshman year with a timeline for everything—I had an incredibly specific (and ill-advised) idea of how my life should look at any given moment in the future. My idea of personal and professional success left no room for error. 

It would have been a shame to learn as much as I did about myself during the pandemic or college and not allow my journey to reflect this growth. I still see immense value in planning ahead, but I am at peace with the idea that everything is tentative. I have learned how to not only embrace but enjoy the ambiguity that comes with adulthood. It’s made the idea of graduating less daunting too.

 I would love to create opportunities for young people in my city to connect with one another. The urban lifestyle is not designed for meaningful social interaction—our schedules are optimized for work, communities are rarely walkable, and there are fewer public, physical spaces where we can convene. Yet some of this is within our power to change or workaround—I think the best way to start is by taking the initiative myself. I intend to research this topic in the coming months by observing niche communities gather, speaking with local leaders, and reaching out to friends who have graduated in the last few years. There is much to consider where accessibility, scalability, and more are concerned as well!

I feel most inspired when I see people describe something they are passionate about. I swear you can see a light in their eyes. It makes me go back to the things that I love with a renewed enthusiasm.

What do you like to watch, read, or do in your free time? 

I’m halfway through the final season of Succession. I’m not sure what I should watch when it ends though…

It would be either Standup II (THTR 482) or Multimedia for Designers and Entrepreneurs II (ACAD 307). Both classes allowed me to grow as a storyteller, albeit with very different fundamentals.

Not sure if this is a hidden gem to locals, but you get the best late-night food on the corner of Vermont and 28th St. I believe it’s called Mi Pueblo Chapin, but my friends and I just call it Marvin’s. 

As she enters her post-IYA chapter, this senior is “embracing the ambiguity of adulthood.” Pahwa’s letting us in on her goals after graduation, including the hope of cultivating meaningful social interactions for young people.

Senior Spotlight: Gitika Pahwa

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