Novus Think Tank
An interdisciplinary problem-solving organization at the University of Southern California
What is Novus?
Novus Think Tank is a home base for interdisciplinary problem-solvers motivated to make an impact and move culture through creative solutions to systemic social challenges. As a diverse community, we're looking for people who work passionately, bring a unique perspective, and share a mindset of possibility.
For more information about our mission and past projects, read the Novus Think Tank Flipbook.
Our Pillars
COMMUNITY
We care deeply about the work that we do and the personal growth that comes from it, and we recognize that the two are inseparable. So, we provide our members with a space where they can embrace that they have a role to play, and a place where they authentically belong, in the collective effort to tackle problems and make progress. From this position of emotional security within a supportive community, a culture of self-empowerment and purposeful living naturally develops within the Novus membership.
IMPACT
Supportive communities empower us to work together to secure our aspirations. Novus offers a collaborative problem-solving space—a “sandbox”—for issues-oriented undergraduates to nourish their intrinsic want for a shared narrative of meaningful impact. Within this space, the Novus experiment plays out, with individuals sharing resources and iterating upon best practices as they amplify their respective efforts to chip away at the pressing issues of our time.
VULNERABILITY
Making impact through community is about integrating diverse perspectives to form solutions that are greater than the sum of their parts. Effective problem-solvers recognize that it is impossible for one person to have all the answers, and that sharing our weaknesses, fears, and frustrations empowers us to reach consensus about our strengths, our shared beliefs, and our ability to work together to secure a happier and healthier state of humanity. This cannot be accomplished without vulnerability, which is Novus’ tool for effective communication, and for creating a culture of authenticity and shared purpose.
Membership Components
MEETINGS
Weekly general meetings are Novus’ place and platform for personal and community empowerment and development. In general meetings, Novus members refine teamwork and leadership skills, engage with integrated interdisciplinary problem-solving strategies, and consult internally about committee projects. General meetings also involve hearing from guest speakers who embody the mindset of possibility that Novus works to create and spread.
FOCUS AREA PROJECTS
Committees are Novus’ engines for positive innovation: they consist of teams of Novus members who identify an entrenched social problem, isolate a root cause to the problem, and form a project aimed at offering a unique, compelling solution. See the committee tabs below for more info.o
COMMUNITY
Community is the glue that binds together our individual growth and our shared problem-solving efforts. Through weekly social events, our retreat, and our end of semester showcase, Novus creates a tight-knit social and professional network united around the conviction that working together, we will flourish.
More Reading
A one-stop-shop to learn more about why Novus exists, what we do, and how we do it.
Like our Handbook, everything you need to know about Novus, but in one page.
Get a sense of what it’s like to be in Novus for a year!
See what Novus’ Narrative Insights Project accomplished in Spring 2019.
Our mission, projects, and alumni highlights—condensed
Our Focus Areas
EDUCATION
The education committee is a group of members leveraging their educational experiences to guide high school students. By focusing on generating motivation and confidence for low income students to go through higher education, the committee has used their own personal narratives to help students achieve their goals. With workshops reaching hundreds of area high school students, the education committee looks forward to finding new ways to break down barriers to entry for higher education.
Contact us at nehra@usc.edu
NARRATIVE INSIGHTS
The Insight Project starts focused, interactive, and meaningful conversations about social issues by spreading awareness of public observances related to those issues. We focus on the human element of the observances by supplementing our writing and research with engaging interviews of students, professors, and experts in industry. Drawing from the empathy and experiences of the people we interview, we aim to reframe anger into understanding and hopelessness into inspiration. Visit our Blog and Instagram and learn more about our work!
Contact us at crougier@usc.edu
PHILANTHROPY
The Philanthropy Committee's mission is to spark intrinsic motivation for philanthropic efforts in order to expand the outreach of selfless change-makers. Over the past year, the committee has held a series of events called Giving Games, through which attendees learn about the Effective Altruism movement and how they can join in becoming more impactful philanthropists. Additionally, for each attendant, the non-profit The Life You Can Save donates $10 per attendee to the non-profits of the students' choice. In total, the Philanthropy committee has raised nearly a thousand dollars for highly-effective non-profits like Housing Hope. The committee is currently working to expand its initiatives through a social impact hackathon.
Contact us at novusthinktank@gmail.com
SUSTAINABILITY
The sustainability committee seeks to make sustainable practices the norm for all disciplines found at USC. Through the creation of a transparent, widely accessible Slack workspace entitled WiCare, the sustainability committee has brought students ranging from actors to engineers together to connect each of their eco-friendly initiatives together. The committee has also established the Wrigley Ambassadors program, a partnership with The USC Wrigley Institute that will bring an interdisciplinary group of USC students to Catalina Island in order to find new applications and implications of USC’s premier sustainability research.
Contact us at macaleigh.hendricks@usc.edu
POLARIZATION
The Olive is Novus’ project to combat polarization: a collection of initiatives aimed at promoting the intentional consumption of media, including journalism, art, and other narratives. In a time of deep political discord, we hope to productively present different takes on some important issues and empower our audience to engage with these differences. After all, extending an olive branch to contrasting outlooks is key to cultivating well-founded opinions. With a newsletter, graphics series, and intellectual speed dating event, we engaged the campus in new ways of examining the noise of content surrounding them.
Contact us at nmcwhort@usc.edu
MENTAL HEALTH