USC Marshall School of Business

ear Friends of Marshall:

The Jonsson family motto states that it takes a bit of courage to swim against the tide, even if you have the right idea.  But our family has always valued independent and creative thinking.  That's why our three children love the USC Marshall School of Business. 

LARS:  I made a habit of taking our children with me to international board meetings. When our son Marcus was four, I brought him to a major negotiation in Stockholm.   Across the table from us sat a dozen bankers.  The first hour Marcus behaved very well.  Then he disappeared under the table.  I could tell where he was by the startled look of a banker as he crawled over his shoes.  That was taking a chance on my part, but it had a positive impact on the negotiation.  All those bankers across the table were tough.  And they had to become human. 

LAURIE:  Our youngest child Jenny came home from sixth grade class in Seattle one day and announced, "I'm going to go to USC."  Her class had researched colleges, and she  had found the perfect school.  Now, we lived in Seattle and neither Lars nor I were Trojans.  When her brother Jonas started looking at colleges, he announced at the dinner table he wanted to go to USC.  Jenny said, “Wait a minute that was my choice!" Then, when Marcus was a senior in high school and he said he wanted to go to USC, too, Jenny said again, "Wait a minute that was MY choice!"  Finally, it was her turn to look at colleges.  At first she thought she couldn't go to the same school as her two brothers, but in the end she just felt it was too good to pass up.  

LARS:  Marshall encourages their students to think creatively:  Ask yourself, how can this be done differently?  That's how you move the world forward. 

LARS & LAURIE:  On this Parent's Day Weekend, we're proud to be Marshall parents -- three times over!  We hope you'll join us in supporting this wonderful school.

Laurie and Lars Jonsson.