{"id":1812,"date":"2021-04-02T13:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T20:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/student-led-think-tank-addresses-pressing-problems-beyond-the-university-walls\/"},"modified":"2024-08-26T18:32:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T01:32:16","slug":"novus-think-tank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/novus-think-tank\/","title":{"rendered":"Student-led think tank addresses pressing problems beyond the university walls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n            \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3443-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3443-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Student-led think tank addresses pressing problems beyond the university walls\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Novus Think Tank founder Max Henning (left) and member Kyle Pham recruit new members during a USC Involvement Fair in 2016. (Photo: Megan Hansford.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=alumni\">Alumni<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Student-led think tank addresses pressing problems beyond the university walls<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Founded by a USC Dornsife alumnus, the unconventional Novus Think Tank enables students to apply their lessons to real-world challenges, while offering a place for Trojans to bond. <strong>[6\u00bc&nbsp;min&nbsp;read]<\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Jim Key<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">April 2, 2021<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Among USC\u2019s pantheon of prestigious and well-known student organizations \u2014 some that date back to the 1800s \u2014\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.novusthinktank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Novus Think Tank<\/a>\u00a0is one of the standouts. Ask a member to describe the organization, founded in 2014, and you\u2019re apt to get similar variations of a lofty, erudite mission statement about furthering human progress and building flourishing communities. But one recent alumnus, who says the group changed his notion of what it means to \u201clive a good life,\u201d is more direct.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re a community of students trying to apply what we\u2019re learning in class to the problems we care about in the real-world \u2014 and we\u2019re really intentional about building a strong community, too,\u201d said Rohan Menon, a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/usc-neuroscience\/\">neuroscience major<\/a>\u00a0who graduated from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences last year and remains involved with Novus.<\/p>\n<p>As a senior, Menon developed the organization&#8217;s first formalized curriculum while a research assistant in USC Dornsife\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/bci\/\">Brain and Creativity Institute<\/a>\u00a0(BCI) with Mary Helen Immordino-Yang,\u00a0professor of education, psychology and neuroscience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is only one requirement to join Novus: You have to [care] about something,\u201d Menon said. \u201cThat\u2019s it. If you really care about a problem or issue out in the world, then this is the place for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Students who care about the state of the world<\/h2>\n<div class=\"news-image-right news-image-portrait\">\n<figure style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/NOVUS_Profile_InStoryA-3443.jpg\" alt=\"A photo of Jasmin Wang\" width=\"214\" height=\"332\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jasmin Wang. (Photo: Courtesy of Jasmin Wang.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>As a freshman attending USC\u2019s virtual Involvement Fair last fall from her family home in Cupertino, California, Jasmin Wang was simply hoping to find an organization that could connect her with other students who share her passion for social justice.<\/p>\n<p>She found much more in Novus: a diverse, tight-knit group that welcomed her as one of its leaders, with an opportunity to work on a cause she\u2019s passionate about.<\/p>\n<p>Wang, who is double-majoring in neuroscience and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\">psychology<\/a>\u00a0at USC Dornsife, cares deeply about combating power-based harm, which is the abuse that happens when someone uses power, control or intimidation to hurt another.\u00a0\u201cThey made it really clear from the start that if there\u2019s something you feel really passionate about \u2026 then they will support you as best as they can. And that was really real,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The newly created power-based harm team is developing plans for a prominent Los Angeles mural to heighten awareness of the issue and spotlight how it affects the indigenous community, which is often overlooked by the public and policymakers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere at USC, we have the education and the resources to take action instead of futilely complaining about all of the issues we see,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Novus, which meets every week (via Zoom, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic), has helped Wang not only feel more connected to the university that she\u2019s only visited once, it has helped her develop a network of students she\u2019s excited to meet on campus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have friend crushes on everyone, basically. They\u2019re all really smart, really nice, really passionate, just genuinely, really good people that I want to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wang\u2019s experience is exactly what Max Henning envisioned for members when he founded Novus as a junior at USC Dornsife majoring in neuroscience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was mostly just desperate to find other young people who were serious about building long-term solutions to the problems we all face,\u201d said Henning, who continues to advise Novus while working as a research assistant to BCI Director Antonio Damasio.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of the potentially existential challenges to modern society are going to come to a head during our lifetimes,\u201d Henning said. \u201cI want us to live our golden years in a better, happier, calmer world. But we have our work cut out.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>A think tank is born<\/h2>\n<p>The origins of Novus can be traced to a hopeful email he sent to a group of students. In it, he says he wrote something like,\u00a0&#8220;I\u2019m going to be in the courtyard on Wednesday for an hour talking about current events and big problems that need solving. If anybody wants to come, I would love to chat with you. If not, I&#8217;ll just read the news on my own.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Four or five Trojans showed up. Soon, thanks to positive word-of-mouth, and to professors who referred \u201cstand out\u201d students who might be interested, it evolved into a demographically diverse, modern-day salon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe had writing majors. Physics majors. Engineers. Designers. I was in neuroscience. We had philosophy, politics and law students,\u201d said Henning. \u201cThe conversations were electric because people came from all of these different angles.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-image-full\">\n<figure style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/NOVUS_Profile_InStoryB-3443.jpg\" alt=\"A group of poeple posing together in the parking lot in a forest.\" width=\"630\" height=\"406\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Novus Think Tank members enjoy an outing in Idyllwild, California, in 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Novus Think Tank.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s when the students realized they had essentially formed a think tank. And that rather than just discussing issues of importance to them, they could use their education and passion to collectively address those issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For USC Dornsife alumnus Isaac Gilles \u201919 (Philosophy, Politics, and Law), USC\u2019s first Student Coordinator of Belonging, it was the integration of problem-solving projects with humanist ideals that was particularly appealing. \u201cNovus put into practice something that I was looking for but didn\u2019t have the words to describe yet,\u201d he said. \u201cAn understanding of human feeling and emotion that suggests that we can \u2014 and should\u2014 work within meaningful communities to pursue the goal of human flourishing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The organization\u2019s commitment to community-building is reflected in its organizational structure. Rather than a single president, it has an executive board that needs to reach consensus on all major decisions and several directors who lead specific tasks and projects. On issues big and small, leaders work to ensure that the perspectives of all members are integrated into decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>The projects have included mitigating political polarization, through a newsletter that attempts to help readers see divisive issues from a different perspective, to tackling student loneliness by amplifying diverse Trojan voices through the group\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/insightusc.blogspot.com\/\">InsightUSC blog<\/a>. They also created The Wrigley Institute Ambassadors Program, which brings students throughout the university to USC Dornsife\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/wrigley\/wmsc\/\">Wrigley Marine Science Center<\/a>\u00a0on Catalina Island to learn about sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>One of the projects that particularly stands out for Henning is an initiative at an underserved South Los Angeles high school around the corner from USC\u2019s University Park campus.\u00a0Emmanuel Carrera Ruedas\u00a0\u201920, who himself graduated from a nearby high school and was a first-generation college student at USC Dornsife, led the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEmmanuel and the education committee developed a program, based on his experience in a similar setting, to strengthen the social and emotional foundations for students at that school,\u201d said Henning. \u201cMany of these kids hadn\u2019t ever felt truly valued by society, so the education team ran a one-on-one discussion and journaling workshop about how their lived experiences of adversity give them a first-hand insight into social problems that sets them apart from even their most well-resourced peers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeveral kids said that it was one of the first times they really felt that they had something to offer. The feedback we heard was incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Lasting bonds among Trojans<\/h2>\n<p>The bonds formed among Novus members are so strong that many alumni, like Megan Hansford, remain involved with the organization,\u00a0advising on student projects and helping with professional networking. \u201cIt was impossible to not be engaged by the people who surrounded me at meetings,\u201d she said, \u201cThe minds that came together\u2026 the ideas that came forth from those minds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now a research manager for a financial consulting firm, Hansford graduated from USC Dornsife with a double-major in neuroscience and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/engl\">English<\/a>\u00a0in 2018. She credits the organization with giving her greater confidence and helping her succeed in her career. \u201cI don\u2019t think I would be in a position of leadership in my workplace if it wasn\u2019t for Novus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/class-on-doing-good\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Students build an orphanage, provide water to the homeless and assist immigrants<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/students-learn-ancient-survival-skills\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >\u2018Surviving the zombie apocalypse\u2019 course teaches students ancient ways of living<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/students-share-a-meal-club-makes-a-difference-by-feeding-the-homeless\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Students\u2019 Share a Meal club makes a difference by feeding the homeless<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Founded by a USC Dornsife alumnus, the unconventional Novus Think Tank enables students to apply their lessons to real-world challenges, while offering a place for Trojans to bond. <strong>[6\u00bc&nbsp;min&nbsp;read]<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":1815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,24,17],"tags":[458,148,214],"class_list":["post-1812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-social-impact","category-student","tag-student-organizations","tag-students","tag-undergraduate-spotlight"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Student-led think tank addresses pressing problems beyond the university walls<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Founded by a USC Dornsife alumnus, the unconventional Novus Think Tank enables students to apply their lessons to real-world challenges. [6\u00bc&nbsp;min&nbsp;read]\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/novus-think-tank\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novus Think Tank addresses pressing problems beyond the university walls\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Founded by a USC Dornsife alumnus, the unconventional Novus Think Tank enables students to apply their lessons to real-world challenges. 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