USC Marshall School of Business

Janeen Bedard's father received an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business. Her older sister graduated two years ago with a business major. Her godfather teaches at USC. And for some 15 years, Bedard has been attending Trojan football games with her family.

It's no wonder, then, that Bedard BS '06 chose to attend USC, or graduate as a business major. The Solano Beach, California, native took on a double concentration: general financial management and entrepreneurship.

As part of the latter, Bedard and a partner came up with a mock business plan for a retail shop called "The Spice Pantry," where customers could purchase customizable quantities of seasonings. The plan, honored at Marshall as one of the top 10 in its class, was thorough enough to include sewage costs, real estate prices, and much more. "That's what was a big draw about entrepreneurship," she says. "It allowed you to apply everything that you learned at Marshall."

Bedard began her post-Trojan career June 2006 as a real estate research associate for Realty Income, a commercial property firm. She found the job via USC's InterviewTrak listing service. Bedard took full advantage of other university programs, as well. She had an entrepreneurship mentor; she booked a summer executive team leader internship with Target Corporation; and she served as a Marshall Student Ambassador, giving back to USC by recruiting and assisting high school seniors.