Imagining a bright future often can be difficult when growing up in an underprivileged inner-city neighborhood. But for 20 Garfield High School students in East Los Angeles, a field trip to USC and a pep talk from students in the USC School of Social Work has convinced many of these high school juniors a cardinal and gold future is a real possibility.

Social work Adjunct Professor CarolAnn Peterson, who teaches a course on domestic violence, coordinated the visit with her long-time friend and Garfield instructor Roberta Ikemi. Many of her students are considered "marginal," Ikemi explains, because they come from broken homes, homes with domestic violence and foster care – obstacles the "system" says may limit their academic and social horizons. But Ikemi believes otherwise.

"If you can dream it, you can be it," she often reminds her students. "What we aim to impart here is that those circumstances do not have to prevent any of them from attending a university or from pursuing their dreams."

The students' day at USC began with a School of Social Work welcome from Peterson, Assistant Dean Elizabeth Pringle-Hornsby and master of social work students Veronicka Gilliland and Alicia Hooton, followed by a hosted tour of campus. The event culminated in a pizza party and roundtable discussion with social work graduate students, many of whom shared stories about their own disadvantaged beginnings, personal obstacles in obtaining higher education and the importance of believing in themselves.

In planning the USC excursion, Ikemi said she thought it would be better to use an unusual, more hands-on educational method so her students could see the campus firsthand and experience "something real."

"I wanted the kids to be able to better envision their futures and see the possibilities ahead of them," said Ikemi, who shares the same East Los Angeles upbringing as her students. A lawyer by trade, she said she knew at a young age that she needed to further her education and hopes to instill that same philosophy in her students, inspiring them to reach their full potential.

She said many of the students come from difficult circumstances and can be easily pigeonholed or guided toward low-paying vocations, rather than being pushed to attend institutions of higher learning and to attain more professional positions. Although a handful have older siblings who have attended colleges or universities, most will become first-generation college graduates.

During the roundtable discussion, tour guide Hooton encouraged students to not give up on their dreams and to believe in their abilities, alluding to her own disinterest in school at one time. She later attended community college and then a four-year university in Washington, where she studied music and psychology. Hooton said her experience helped her realize she had many more choices in life.

MSW candidate Jennifer Chavez relayed a similar story of attending community college. She then transferred to UCLA, where she quickly became aware of the lack of Latino representation, spurring her to ensure other Latinos had the same opportunities she had been afforded. Chavez recalled one time as a UCLA tour guide a fourth grader had asked her where all the black and Latino people were. Chavez figured if a 9-year-old had easily observed these inequities, then so would others, and today she continues her crusade to encourage diversity at USC.

A recurring theme of the day was the importance of education. Fabiola Diaz, who grew up within a stone's throw of USC, was encouraged by her parents – of Mexican descent – to obtain the best education possible. While she is thankful her parents enabled her to attend private Catholic schools, she acknowledged serious disparities between public and private schools in Los Angeles.

"There were many negative people around who doubted my abilities," said Oscar Gonzalez, who now serves as president of the school's Student Organization board. Gonzalez, who graduated debt-free from California State University, Long Beach, encouraged the audience not to be afraid of pursuing higher learning because of the cost. Take advantage of government grants and scholarships, he offered. "Si se puede," he said.

Eddie Gonzalez, an alumnus of Garfield High School, told fellow Bulldogs he was the first person in his family to attend college, but he credited the high level of encouragement from family and friends for his success. During high school, he had always been involved in athletics and received multiple letters from university football recruiters prior to graduation. Much like Oscar Gonzalez, Eddie had a fair share of doubters in his corner including a school counselor who discouraged him from applying to a four-year college because of his behavioral problems, lack of money and stints in juvenile hall. Eddie made a choice to change his environment and, in effect, change his odds. He ventured to a school in Northern California, where he became involved in managing youth programs.

"I always knew I had it in me to succeed," he said. "I wish that counselor could see me now!"

After relaying messages of hope and reinforcing that education is attainable, the social work graduate students stayed for one-on-one question and answer sessions with the high schoolers.

Garfield High School student Joey Chavez said: "I have been with Ms. Ikemi since eighth grade, and she is always telling us that she wants us to go to college. Hearing the stories of these students who have made it really encourages us."

Chavez is not certain what area of study he would like to tackle, but he said the tour allowed him to learn a great deal about USC, and he and his younger brother are excited with the prospect of becoming Trojans.

"What I liked best about the tour today was how different the environment was. It took all of us outside of our comfort zones, but in a good way," said Garfield High School student Erick Olmos. "This event helps us to know that we can overcome boundaries and succeed and, for me, it was great to be able to see all the buildings and to see so many people of many different nationalities come together on this campus without any conflict."