University Southern California Trojans
Heritage Association Spotlight: Alissa Ellis, USC Swim & Dive
March 22, 2019 | Women's Swimming & Diving, Trojan Athletic Fund, Features
Alissa's road to choosing a university was not solely based on athletics, though. She was an outstanding student and knew that she wanted to go into a caring profession. Specifically, Alissa had he her sights set on becoming a mental health psychiatrist. She wanted to attend a large private school and while she was in high school, USC was named College of the Year by TIME Magazine. It was a no brainer – Alissa would definitely be applying to USC.
Her hard work paid off and Alissa was accepted into USC for fall 2000. With psychology and pre-med as her course of study, Alissa knew the course load would be tough, but held on to her decision to walk on to the swim team. "My memories as a student-athlete are some of my fondest college memories. Walking on was one of the best decisions I ever made," says Alissa. Not only did Alissa make the team, she would go on to receive the coach's award her freshman year.
Some of Alissa's best memories came from spending time with her teammates. "My favorite memory of being at USC was definitely the initiation festivities for the new swimmers. We had scavenger hunts, team building exercises, just different adventures that gave us a sense of family." Alissa says that her teammates are still her closest friends and have even been in each other's weddings. "We started looking out for one another as teammates and never stopped."
Alissa admits that it was a lot of hard work her first few years trying to balance academics and athletics. "I had to really learn to use my weekends and balance being tired nearly all the time". In addition to being a student-athlete, Alissa also managed to stay involved with other campus clubs and activities and was one of the only student-athletes members of the Mortar Board academic group. In fact, a special non-athletics memory came from her involvement with Mortar Board in which she was invited to eat breakfast at the top of the bell tower before graduation. "I had some great memories with my team, but that was hard to beat!"
After three years of hard work as a member of the team, Alissa chose to stop competing in order to focus on her academics. Her dream was still to help people with clinical depression and reduce the stigma around depression. She felt that leaving the swim team was the necessary decision to further her career long term. Alissa graduated in the spring of 2004 and later went on to earn her PhD from the University of Texas.
Alissa followed her dreams and is now a Clinical Neuro Psychologist. In her private practice, she focuses on adolescents and adults with depression and anxiety. She is also a clinical professor of psychology at UCLA. "I enjoy making a difference and helping people understand their emotions. I don't just want to push medications, I want to continue to learn and understand why people get depressed."
Although she works a lot, Alissa still manages to maintain an athletic lifestyle by competing in marathons and triathlons. She is also a big football fan and is both an Indianapolis Colts and USC Trojan season ticket holder. "I love attending SC games with my old teammates and classmates. It never gets old." To further her dedication to USC, Alissa gives back to current student-athletes through her Heritage Association membership and even found time to volunteer on her 10-year reunion planning committee.
It is not hard to believe that Alissa credits a lot of her work ethic to being a student-athlete at USC and she offers some valuable advice to current student-athletes. "My advice to the current student-athletes is to just keep working hard. Take the intensity of being a student-athlete and translate it into being a professional. Stay positive and know that it will pay off. Never stop visualizing what you want the end goal to be."
