USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, Tina Isaris-Nauman, Sheryl Yortsos, Kate Yortsos, Stevie Yortsos and Chris Yortsos. Image/Cooper Brown
It’s a rite of passage. Each summer, parents anxiously watch their children travel hundreds of miles and many states away for college. Their only wish is for their child to thrive in a positive, safe, supportive environment that will set them up for a lifetime of success.
Tina Isaris-Nauman understands this feeling. Her son Kyle moved across the country from their East Coast home to USC Viterbi School of Engineering, where he completed his B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2012 and later returned for his M.S. in Green Technology in 2021. She soon realized he had made exactly the right decision.
Isaris-Nauman was impressed by the spirit of community and the commitment to innovation and diversity at USC Viterbi. This culminated in 2023 with a generous gift: the endowment of a new undergraduate scholarship supporting future engineers at USC Viterbi, to be known as the Sheryl and Yannis C. Yortsos Endowed Scholarship.
Dean Yannis C. Yortsos was surprised by his wife Sheryl and their children at the scholarship announcement. Image/Cooper Brown.
Isaris-Nauman said that her decision to endow the scholarship stemmed from the school’s extraordinary culture and supportive community, driven by the leadership of USC Viterbi Dean Yannis C. Yortsos. She said that her son had an immensely positive experience throughout his studies, making invaluable connections that led to research projects, internships and student work opportunities, all of which prepared him for his successful career in renewable energy.
“Kyle was the happiest human here. It was very hard to send your kid away to college from the East Coast, but he made the right decision, he really did,” she said. “There is kindness here —less anonymity and more of a sense of family. It just benefited him in the day-to-day, knowing that he could rely on the staff here, and I think that it all trickles down from Yannis.”
The scholarship was announced in an emotion-packed event attended by Isaris-Nauman and the Yortsos family, Dean Yortsos, Sheryl, and their children Chris, Stevie and Kate.
Yortsos said he was very honored by the surprise scholarship endowment, crediting the support and dedication of his wife and family for his ability to succeed throughout his academic career.
A Long Track Record of Visionary Excellence
Harnessing engineering to solve humanity’s most pressing problems has been a critical focus of USC Viterbi under the vision and leadership of Yortsos. In 2009, USC Viterbi co-founded the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) with Duke University and Olin College. The program — which has since expanded to over 100 universities nationwide — is a unique opportunity for undergraduate engineering students to harness their talents to address the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges: Sustainability, Health, Security and Joy of Living.
In honor of the GCSP’s overwhelming success, in 2022, Yortsos and his collaborators were honored by the NAE with the nation’s most important prize for engineering education, the prestigious Bernard M. Gordon Prize.
Under Yortsos’ leadership, USC Viterbi is also guided by the principle of “Engineering+,” in which students are encouraged to enrich their education by pursuing a diverse array of subject areas outside of their technical engineering studies.
Yortsos has also been a longtime passionate advocate for improving diversity in engineering education. In 2023, the USC Viterbi entering class achieved gender parity, with 49% female students, for the fifth year in a row.
TINA ISARIS-NAUMAN AND YANNIS C. YORTSOS UNVEILED THE NEW SCHOLARSHIP AT RONALD TUTOR HALL. IMAGE/COOPER BROWN
“My favorite things about Yannis are, firstly, he’s obviously brilliant, but it’s also the humanitarian side of him and the personal side of him,” Isaris-Nauman said.
“He makes a point of really getting to know people. I think it’s that rare combination of someone with that big a brain and that big a heart. He deserves this legacy.”
Isaris-Nauman said she had also been fortunate to connect and find support and community with Sheryl Yortsos throughout several USC Viterbi events. The families also had a shared connection when both their sons — Kyle’s twin brother Drew, and Sheryl and Yannis Yortsos’ son Stevie —experienced serious sporting injuries, which they fortunately recovered from.
“Sheryl and I became friendly, and I know their children. To have the support of an amazing family like that, even when your job is incredibly demanding and you have to travel and advocate for the university, that is the biggest testament [to Yannis],” she said.
Isaris-Nauman said that she hoped the scholarship would provide future students with the positive academic and career opportunities her son was fortunate to experience while reducing the financial burden of undergraduate study.
“You should be able to choose the right university by what’s right for you, not by the money. People all across this country deserve that opportunity,” Isaris-Nauman said.
“Through it all, I still view myself as a very blessed and grateful human. And I know from the boys that they always consider themselves very fortunate. They have so much to be grateful for,” she said.
Published on November 22nd, 2023
Last updated on November 22nd, 2023
