The Radisson’s ballroom is buzzing with lively chatter at the end of USC Annenberg’s Graduate Fellowship Micro Seminar series held September 18, 2015.  Annenberg Fellows have been invited to attend one of six micro seminars on the topics of communication, digital media research and creative practice.  Martin Martinez Espinoza, a first year PhD student specializing in computer networks at Viterbi, stands at a table with PhD students from Annenberg discussing the micro seminar they attended together on innovating and solving problems through the use of online communities.  Marvelling at the quality of the discussion that unfolded due to participants’ diverse academic backgrounds, Martin explains, “The cool part of all this was we wouldn’t have had the same dialogue if the room only had engineers”.

Over at another table, a few students from the USC School of Cinematic Arts huddle together eagerly discussing the creative process.  The conversation quickly flits from topic to topic as Helen Krieger, Jacob Bohrod and Andrew Byrd-Smith dissect their respective micro seminars. “That one was my second choice!” Helen says with great enthusiasm, urging Jacob to tell her more about his thoughts on Professor Pablo Frasconi’s session on mindfulness and meditation.  Similar scenes continue to unfold throughout all corners of the ballroom as Annenberg Fellows share their insights and connect over common interests.  The event is deemed a success by the Associate Dean of Graduate Fellowships, Dr. Meredith Drake Reitan, “It was great to see students interacting and sharing ideas, this is the spirit of why we put together such seminars.”

We invite you to take a look at our gallery to see photos from the event.