University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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siasaaiiiiia . 16-year-old 1982 Graduate Mariel Aragon Profile of a Multi-Talented Trojan Scholar I The youngest person to ever receive a degree from USC is 16-year-old Mariel Aragon, who will be receiving her BS in Biology this May. Mariel was born on January 20, 1966, and could speak 3 languages: Spanish, English, and Phillipino, by the time she was 8 months old. Her mother, a profes- sional dancer, taught her to dance at this age as well. The first genius in the family was Marcos Aragon, Mariel ' s mother ' s brother, but he was not the only person of distinction in the family. Her mother ' s grandfather was the for- mer President of the Phillipines, Manuel L. Quezon. Mariel was tested when she was only 18 months old by Chicago Psychologist and Specialist in gifted children Dr. J. T olentino. She told her mother that Mariel was a genuis. When she was 2, she attended nursery school where she learned to read, add and subtract, and she also did clerical work (filing, an- swering phones, etc.) for the Mayor of Las Vegas and Senator Cranston. At age 4, Mariel entered school, but she was only allowed in because her mother lied on her birth certificate. She entered the first grade when she was five; she had mastered the fourth grade at age 7. Mariel took time off after 5th grade to pursue a career in acting. It was off to L.A. to tape a few M A S H episodes, and then back to school. She finished 9th and 10th grades in one year, at age 10. Mariel was offered a chance to partici- pate in a Johns Hopkins University pro- gram for 11 to 15-year-old gifted chilren. There were only 25 children from ar- ound the country, but unfortunately, Mariel had to leave the program when she was 11 because her father had a serious heart attack. Mariel went di- rectly from Johns Hopkins to USC-still 11 years old. Mariel currently lives at home and is looking forward to her first actual grad- uation; she never had one before be- cause she always skipped around in classes. Mariel would like to be a doctor as a result of her close ties with her grandmother. When Mariel was 9. her grandmother underwent surgery and re- quested Mariel ' s presence. She observed the operation with extreme interest, and has wanted to be a doctor ever since. She plans on attending USC Medical School eventually, and Law School after that. For the present, she is going to continue her education here, even though she has received threats on her life and must travel with security ar- ound her. The most amazing of Mariel ' s quali- ties is that she is not merely academi- cally oriented. She could ice skate at age 2, and has won awards for being a top gymnast, a ballet dancer, a pianist, and a singer. SCHOLAR USC GRADUATE ICE SKATER BALLET DANCER SINGER ACTRESS GYMNAST I 194 Mariel Aragon Profile

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Even- year a new fad comes and goes. This year there is one that has arrived and doesn ' t appear to be leav- ing too swiftly. It ' s the famed Sony Walkman lor perhaps some other brand of a walkman). They are infa- mous for causing any sort of dance routine to suddenly erupt in the mid- dle of University Avenue and on cam- puses everywhere. At times they have appeared almost as a newly perma- nent part of the human anatomy growing out from each ear and fusing together somewhere on the top of the head or behind the neck. No matter what they appear to be. they are min- i-stereos which provide personal en- tertainment no matter where you go. Let ' s hear it for the Walkmans - the latest discovery for taking a little of the drag out of studying! Punk Rock and New Wave proved to be not only a type of music or dancing but dress as well with stu- dents dotting the campus in this unu- sual art form . 1982 is the 29th year of SONG- FEST, the world ' s largest all-student produced and performed musical. Over 500 students participated, per- forming for an audience of at least 5.000. Chairperson for this year ' s show with the theme We Sing To- gether was Kelly McNamara; Co- Chairperson was John Holmes. On November 18. 1981 an immense Tuition Rally signaled a new era in student body cooperation with the Student Senate. These words, spoken by Andrew Littlefair. chairperson of the Student Senate, are important ones in the eyes of most students here at ' SC in that a gigantic step forward was made in improving education for the amount of money students are paying. After holding meetings with leaders of 60 student organizations, three weeks of distributing buttons to concerned persons, and much opinion vocalizing, the Student Senate now feels they have made important changes in making the University ad- ministration realize that if they must continue charging exorbitant amounts of money for tuition, they must drast- ically improve their educational pro- visions. The entrepreneurial spirit has come alive at USC with the establishment of the ENTREPRENEUR ASSOCIA- TION. It was embodied as an official association in early September 1981 and Harvard University followed in late fall with the second such associa- tion of this kind in the U.S.. Mark Eisen and Ron Gannotti founded and head the association which is ba.sed on what they felt was a need to in- crease the entrepreneurial process and to promote career awareness on campus and off through the Entre- prenuer Program in the School of Business with guest speakers ranging from Jerry Buss to Mr. Jelly Belly, David Klein. This spirit lead to Eisen and Gannotti creating and marketing the USC Trojan Helmet sold before the football games. All the proceeds were donated back to the Entrepre- neur Program. Other members of this program created and promoted The Men of USC Calender, Camp USC Concept and the Rolling Stones Pos- ters. This year, USC presented FAME, a student produced, acted and directed musical that made its world stage premiere at Bing Theatre. The show ran from April 5-18 with over 400 people auditioning for parts and 104 of them in the final production. FAME was affiliated with MGM. who gave USC the rights to use the music and who watched the show for new talent. The talented students played to a full house with about 3,000 people catch- ing the show. School Events 193

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LEFT: EXCEPTIONAL CHILD — Mariel represented the state of Nevada in all-around competi- tion. Winning Little Miss Uni- verse , Mariel ' s award-winning achievements included dancing, singing, piano and scholastic ap- titude. FAR BELOW: SPEED READING ENTHUSIAST — Mariel learned this studv practice from a professor from Northwest- ern University. By the age of 7, she was able to read 8,000 words a minute. BELOW: A CARSON GUEST — Mariel was asked to appear on Johnny Carson after being awarded top honors from President Carter in celebration of the vear of the child. Mariel Aragon Profile 195