Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at USF

The USF Center for Asia Pacific Studies is excited to host Curtis Chin for a talk inspired by his memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. In this candid and compelling book, Chin shares his story about growing up Asian in Detroit and coming out to his working-class immigrant family, all set against the Reagan Revolution of the 1980s, AIDS, and his family's popular Chinese restaurant. RSVP using the QR Code above!

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Tomorrow, join us for the last of our Reimagining Justice: Conversations for Building and Strengthening Bridges series — with basketball great and McCarthy Center Board Advisor, Bill Cartwright. In his new book, “Living Life at the Center,” he offers what it means to be an ethical leader. RSVP Limited Seating: https://ow.ly/ef1c50VmXSC

Looking for a unique opportunity to live, learn, and explore San Francisco this summer? The Black 2 San Francisco (B2SF) initiative offers a transformative and empowering six-week program (June 23, 2025 - August 1, 2025) for college students from San Francisco and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). All applicants are also required to email to [email protected] two letters of recommendation, a cover letter, and a resume. Feel more than free to reach out to their email for any questions! Apply now: https://formstack.io/881A5

Easter Sunday always brings a sense of peace, hope, and renewal. Today, we celebrate the miracle that changed everything. Easter isn't just a day—it's a reminder that new beginnings are always possible.

Today is also the last weekend of the 2025 Cherry Blossom Festival! Just north of the Hilltop in Japan Town in Peace Plaza, the Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival (NCCBF) is one of California’s most prominent celebrations of Japanese and Japanese American traditions. This display showcases the vibrant colors and grace of the Japanese culture and the rich heritage and diversity of the Japanese American community.

Congrats to our 2025 Leo T. McCarthy Public Service Award winner, Koa Fong! The Leo T. McCarthy Public Service Award is presented to the graduating senior who, during their career at USF, worked to promote social justice through public service to create a more humane and just world. Koa Fong ’25 is a Finance major dedicated to social justice, Chinese-American activism, and the Jesuit values of USF. She is also a member of the USF Rising Youth Mentorship program! Read her blog from last semester here: https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/mccarthy/2024/08/29/mentoring-the-next-generation/

Do you like creating content that helps serve local communities? Public charity, Register Her, is looking to hire a social media intern to start as soon as possible! With platforms such as Instagram (and potentially TikTok), build up your resume, gain direct creative experience in the VR and social activism spaces, and gain a monthly stipend! If you’re someone who’s interested in being involved with civic engagement and voter registration efforts, apply now! For more information: email, DM

Madalyn Bowden ’25, Amy Zhang Jiang ’25, and Abigail Pena ’25 took part in the USF Architecture capstone studio Community Design Outreach during the Fall 2024 semester! This past January, eleven students and two professors embarked on an immersion trip to Ajo, Arizona to meet with non-profit organization, Humane Borders, and install water barrels over a week-long stay in the Sonoran Desert. Read how their experience in Ajo gave them a hands-on perspective on border issues and the vital role of humanitarian aid: https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/mccarthy/2025/04/09/the-gift-of-water-through-community-design/

Take a pause in your day and visit our USF Votes team with all of your voter registration and information questions! Look for them on Tuesdays at dead hour on U.C. First floor. They will also be tabling on Earth Day at Welch Field from 11:00am - 1:00pm.

Thanks to all of those who came to the first event of our Reimagining Justice: Conversations for Building and Strengthening Bridges series with stand-up comic, storyteller, and community activist Thylon Sizemore! Check out our Flickr Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC7ThM It’s conversations like these that help strengthen and unite our communities. Join us tonight for our second event with Al Williams, Director of the San Francisco African American Historical and Cultural Society, on the San Francisco African American Historic Context Statement! We will see you all soon! RSVP limited seating: https://ow.ly/5kCg50VmXSE

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Carl Levy III ’25, Marketing major and Legal Studies minor, is one of our Financial Literacy Fellows assigned to teaching young people at the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco. When working with today’s youth, the next generation of educators can see the need to prepare students for financial success! Read Carl’s experience and how activism can take place in the classroom: https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/mccarthy/2025/04/04/activism-through-financial-education/