Holiday Party 2012

On Sunday, December 2, 2012, the wonderful women of TJA got together to celebrate the spirit of the holiday season. Our annual party was held at Mary Jayne's family home. We each brought a potluck dish as well as a gift for a White Elephant gift exchange. Donations were taken to donate to the Downtown LA Women's Center.

The event began with a welcome from our president, Michelle. We then socialized, voted on our benefit theme, and signed holiday cards for our supporters. Once dinner commenced we dined in style eating traditional ham, salads, pastas, and more. Dessert brought cookies, pies, cakes and puddings.

With full bellies we moved tree-side for our White Elephant gift exchange. Meredith was lucky #1 that kicked it off and opened a penguin cookie jar. Other popular gifting items of the night included a Hello Kitty Toaster, a wine accessories kit, a baking kit, and a picnic kit.

The night ended with full bellies, happy hearts and big smiles. It's always fun to share the holidays with our fellow Trojans and TJA members. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Annual Pumpkin Carving 2012

Break out your autumnal-colored clothing and start sipping your pumpkin spice lattes, fall is here!

Halloween has just past and we hope everyone has had a great season!

On Sunday, October 21, TJA hosted it's annual pumpkin carving for members to come show their creative talents and have something to celebrate the season. Special thank you to Dawn, our outstanding social chair, for planning another great event!

 Stephanie, Katie, Emily and Dawn showing off their carvings

Dawn hard at work

Sweet snacks to fuel the Halloween pumpkin carving

Katie focused on getting the right cut

Michelle and Kendra showing off their great pumpkins!

The women at work

Happy Halloween from USC TJA!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to two of TJA's beautiful members for each having their first born children, both daughters! 

Janine Coleman and her husband Casey gave birth to Adele on Monday, August 24, 2012. 

This sleepy girl is already a Trojan fan!

Maggie Habib and her husband Marc welcomed baby Jasmine on September 12, 2012. 

We love you, Janine and Maggie!

Spa Night with TJA

It seems to have become a tradition for the TJA ladies to do a spa night together at the Bliss Spa located at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Special thanks to Dawn Sirtak for planning these great evenings for us! As social chair, she is sure to always find the best activities for us to participate in. On nights like this, we get mini-manis, massages, facials and consultations.

On Tuesday, September 18, members gathered for some well-deserved relaxation.

USC v.Hawaii - September 1, 2012

It was the USC 2012 Football season opener and we TJA members were ready to bring in the new year with our very own tailgate. Located between Annenberg and Bing Theater, Katie and Michelle worked together to create a great place to build excitement for the big game!

USC Trojan Junior Auxiliary "Mini-Tailgate" for Season Opener: USC vs. Hawaii

Ashley Cooper, our current Parliamentarian, pictured above on the left says: 

"My husband and I had a great time at the TJA tailgate this weekend! We enjoyed some champagne and great Trojan company during a full day of tailgates, and topped off by a Trojan victory to kick off the season. Thanks to Michelle and Katie for putting it together. Fight On!" 

Michelle Maestas, TJA president, above to the right of the drum major said: 

"We had a great time toasting USC with champagne and meeting new and old friends at the TJA tailgate this past weekend. Walt [her boyfriend] works with the Trojan Marching Band it was fun to be so close to the warm-up and music! We were even able to share our recent fundraising event [in partnership with USC Beverly Hills-Hollywood Alumni Club] at the Hollywood Bowl with Trojan Marching Band Parents near our tailgate. Many of them did not even know the TMB would be featured at the Hollywood Bowl!"

"It was a blast to be able to hang out with our [USC TJA] members and their friends before the game. We enjoyed good food and good company. This was a great way to kick-off the football season and I look forward to future tailgates." - Katie Kramer, USC TJA President-Elect & Membership Chair 12-13

FINAL SCORE:

USC: 49

HAWAII: 10 

Join USC Trojan Junior Auxiliary at USC this Saturday, 9/22/12, 11am-1pm, 

for a "mini-tailgate-hop" between Annenberg & Bing.  

Beat the Bears!

Out and About - August 2012

This past weekend, TJA participated in the North Orange County Alumni Club Trojan Family Day.

Michelle, our president, shared the following:

The Trojan Family Day event produced by the North Orange County Alumni Club was a great time.  ESPN 710AM show "Trojan Brunch" with Mark Willard was there entertaining us, along with the USC Song Girls, and Mater Dei Song Girls.  Local businesses including Roger Dunn were offering discounts to event attendees.  They also had an amazing Trojan themed bounce house, batting cage, and food trucks.  We definitely had some shave ice on the hot day!  The [NOCAC] club also held opportunity drawings, and a silent auction with all proceeds benefiting scholarships.   Trojan Junior Auxiliary sold baby onesies & toddler tees to expectant parents at the event.  Three TJA members cheerfully sold our branded products throughout the event from 10am to 3pm.  We even had my dog, Duple, modeling the Pet Bandana!  I might be a little biased, but I think his cuteness drew a few people in to take a look at our table.


                                     

                                      

Membership Mixer 2012

On Monday, August 13, Trojan Junior Auxiliary hosted its annual membership mixer in which we share information about our organization with Trojan alumnae interested in joining.

Meredith and Charlotte handling the check-in

The Widney Alumni House was packed with smart, talented, and beautiful women looking to stay connected and give back to their USC community. After networking and socializing, Michelle, our President, and Katie, our Membership VP, introduced TJA- everything from what we do to how we do it.

Michelle, our President 

                           

Randyn, Michelle, Nancy and Ashley

TJA is an organization dedicated to providing scholarships to undergraduate junior and senior women in the USC community. For every dollar we raise, USC matches and doubles that amount, making our contribution go even further. Our main vehicle for fundraising is through our annual benefit, generally held in the spring, in which members, patrons, family, friends, and guests join us for a gala-type of event. When we're not busy planning for our benefit, we're participating in community outreach and service, networking and socializing.
TJA is made up of multi-faceted and incredibly talented women who are kind and down to earth. Being a member here is more than just giving back, it's also making friends for life.

                        

Randyn, Trisha and Dawn     

Nancy, Jaymie and Janine

Information about our amazing scholarship recipients on display

We had over 90 alumnae RSVP for our event, many of whom plan to attend our first meeting of the year on September 10. We can't wait to see them! Will you be there?

A former TJA member was there to sell her jewelry line, Stella & Dot. A portion of the proceeds go toward student scholarships. If you're interested in checking out some jewelry (for a good cause!), click here!

TJA merchandise for sale on display. For more information, contact Christina Yee at specialprojects@usctja.com

There's always food available at TJA meetings!

One packed house!