Salutatorian Thomas Kim uses international experience to relate to people of all cultures

When Thomas Kim arrived at USC in 2016, he didn’t have his next four years specifically mapped out. One of the reasons he chose USC was because he was allowed to enter without choosing a major. Don’t think for a second that he had no goals, though.

Growing up around music, the San Diego native played piano and saxophone as a child and was a member of his high school marching band. So, when he arrived in Los Angeles, he set his sights on the Trojan Marching Band. He eventually worked his way up to squad leader, but before all of that, a small detail from his freshman year set the tone for his collegiate career.

As he picked up his uniform from the band office, he read a handout about a USC 2014 salutatorian who was in the band.

“At the time, I was of the mindset that I just needed a decent GPA to go to grad school,” Kim said. “But that flyer is what told me, ‘You can be the top of the top and still do [band] for four years,’ despite what people say about the time commitment.”

Kim also understood that he didn’t have to lose sleep, be constantly stressed or sacrifice his health to accomplish his goal. That mindset worked, as Kim was named a salutatorian for the Class of 2020, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a minor in environmental studies.

“Everyone has the potential to reach their highest academic heights,” he said, “as well as explore their full set of non-academic extracurriculars.”

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