Furthermore, we emphasize the name TRAINS as there are multiple parties being trained in the process.  We believe we can help community college students best to pursue a career in STEM by training them in academic and professional scientific work as well as by training their mentors at the 4-year university to be accommodating to the unique challenges faced by community college students in their success i.e. we want to change both the community college student culture as well as the 4-year university culture to promote the success and talents of the community college student.  As such, TRAINS students should expect to have highly supportive mentors at USC who will be dedicated to their success and will understand them and support them throughout the entire TRAINS program and beyond.

Do you have to be “super smart” to be successful in TRAINS? The TRAINS leadership and faculty believe that good students are “made” and not “born”; We believe that by providing the appropriate guidance and leadership to any student, we will be able to transform a community college student to a student that is capable of transferring to USC, a globally recognized, elite university.  As long as the student is willing to put in the work and has a demonstrated record of grit and hard work, that student will be highly successful in TRAINS.  We know you do not know everything; That is the point of the program, to give you the rest.