Thornton Student Ambassadors: Balancing Schedules
By Aileen Conner & Samson Rabinowitz
Thornton Student Ambassadors Aileen Conner and Samson Rabinowitz share about their experience balancing major core requirements with USC Core GE requirements and other commitments.
AILEEN CONNER | BM VOCAL ARTS
My name is Aileen Conner, and I am a sophomore majoring in Vocal Arts and Opera. A week in my life looks jam-packed, especially in the fall. I am taking 18 units, with most of those being music-focused classes; however, this semester I am taking two electives, Chinese Calligraphy and Bollywood Dance. Courses like these allow me to break away from music for a little bit and channel my energy into other fun things! Some of my favorite classes I have taken so far include Music and Ideas, which discusses the philosophy behind different types of music, and German. On top of classes, I also work a part-time job on campus, am part of multiple clubs, and partake in productions.
Can you do everything you want to do? How can you best manage everything? Well, first off, my calendar is my best friend. Whether it’s Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Notion, or whatever it may be, it is important to see what my day-to-day looks like and visually see how much an activity is taking up. I also use my Notes app to write down everything I need to accomplish, whether it’s due tomorrow or three months from now. Having that constant reminder motivates me to do it more, and it’s very satisfying to check something off a to-do list for me! If you are encouraged to do something, you will find the time to accomplish it. There are days when I have to wake up at 7 a.m. to fit in a workout, for example. But it’s something that I prioritize and look forward to doing!
Prioritizing things can be tough, but one of my most important tips is to learn to say no. You may be wondering what I mean by this. When you first come to college, it’s all very new and exciting and you may find yourself committing to so many things that it’s almost impossible to be truly committed to any of them. I ran into this problem myself and I felt like I wasn’t really putting my best foot forward. It’s important to reflect on what is taking up your time and consider if it’s worth it. Some resources I have used while balancing both music and school is making separate goal lists: one for music and one for academics. It’s easy to become overwhelmed, so just breaking down tasks and separating the two helps me. During midterms and finals season, it can become easy to start skipping that 8 a.m. class… or procrastinate your work. Remind yourself why you are here and remember that your dreams don’t come at an easy cost. Being a student is hard, so be sure you remember to practice, take care of yourself, SLEEP (seriously your body will thank you later), eat well, practice and stay motivated. You got this!
(Images courtesy of Aileen Conner, from left to right: Example of Aileen’s “To-Do” list; Aileen Conner; example of a few days in Aileen’s schedule from September 2024.)
SAMSON RABINOWITZ | BM POPULAR MUSIC | SONGWRITING MINOR
I’m Samson Rabinowitz, a third-year Pop Music Performance major with an emphasis in drums and a minor in songwriting.
Having one or two General Education (GE) classes each semester helps keep the workload manageable alongside music classes like popular music performance, songwriting, music theory, and private lessons. These are some of the highlights of the program and are always a blast to experience. When you add in rehearsals, work, and extracurriculars, as you can see below, my schedule can get chaotic – it doesn’t even fit into one screenshot. Everyone balances their workload differently. I’ve always liked being busy and find that stress helps kick my brain into gear. I took 18 units for my first four semesters, frontloading some of the tougher classes early on. Downtime was something I had to schedule to avoid burnout. On my busiest weeks, practice sometimes meant using a drum pad in my apartment if I couldn’t make it to the practice rooms. Staying excited about classes like popular music performance and songwriting kept me going. For tougher GE’s, it was easy to let them fall into the background when I had so much else going on. I learned to break studying into smaller pieces – focusing on one lecture or topic at a time – and tackle things bit by bit to stay on top of it all.
The good news: It gets better! This semester feels completely different from my first two years. With only 14 units, I’ve had more free time than ever, and the classes I’m taking now have lighter workloads. I’ve learned how to manage my time, stay on top of assignments, and build a schedule that gives me some room to breathe.
(Images courtesy of Samson Rabinowitz, from left to right: Example of Samson’s schedule in April 2024 vs. Samson’s schedule in October 2024.)
