Julie Moffitt

Class of 2004, B.A. in Psychology with Minor in Jazz Studies

Where have you worked and/or studied since you graduated from USC?

First, I continued my undergraduate work at The USC Twin Project for a year. Afterwards, I spent 5 years writing, recording albums, and touring the country as a self-employed musician. I became the Midwest Regional Director  of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA). Eventually, I attended the University of Chicago, switched careers, and became a member of the Health Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). Today, I work for ForeLight, a biotech company I co-founded in 2009. We are currently going through our Series A raise and launching our first products on the market (we produce fluorescent dyes for life and material sciences use–primarily diagnostics and research).

What was the most beneficial thing you did as a student at USC to prepare you for post-graduation?

Learning to network and build relationships – regardless of the field I’ve been working in since graduation, contacts and relationships carry over and become mutually beneficial at odd times.

What course did you enjoy the most?

I barely remember the individual courses. After a decade, they start to blur together into a general approximation of “my college years.”  But I learned the most legitimately useful life information from Dr. Walsh in his adult development course.  I think the intention of that course was to interest students in geriatric care, but truthfully it was one of the few courses I’ve ever taken where I left feeling more capable of managing my own development.  Not that I didn’t enjoy Statistics…

If you were an undergraduate again, is there anything that you would do differently?

Honestly?  Just about everything.  I would take a gap year before even becoming an undergraduate, travel and learn how to exist on my own, and think harder about what I REALLY wanted to do with my life before enrolling in any classes.  I loved studying psychology, and I loved college at USC, but the student loan debt I racked up was part of a commitment I made to a career that I did not, in the end, really want to pursue, and I would love to go back and make more realistic and thoughtful decisions.

Have you won any awards, accolades, etc. after you graduated from USC?

I won several awards during my years performing full-time, including a top Blues Vocalist award at Milwaukee’s annual Summerfest and the 2007 FameCast Best Singer/Songwriter award.  No Nobel Prize just yet.