As part of a new series celebrating ICT staff and faculty whose children are also proud Trojans, meet Alesia Gainer, Project Leader and Project Manager, Virtual Humans Group and her daughter Claudia Egan, a marine biology junior in the Marine and Environmental Biology department within USC Dornsife.
At ICT, Alesia Gainer, Project Leader and Project Manager, Virtual Humans Group, manages approximately $10 million in research funding for artificial intelligence systems designed to recognize emotion and respond with appropriate social behavior. Her daughter Claudia Egan, a marine biology junior, spends her days in organic chemistry labs and lecture halls on the main campus.
Their USC experiences rarely intersect, but they’re both proud Trojans.
“My mom’s world at USC is very different from mine,” laughs Claudia. “She deals with robots and AI and a lot of computer scientists while I’m suffering in organic chemistry and biology.
“Growing up both my daughters swore that they were East Coast-bound and wouldn’t consider a California university or college since they had ‘been there and done that,'” says Gainer. “So, although I was aware of perks like the tuition benefit, I never thought I would enjoy it.”
Fortunately, she was wrong, but Claudia’s path to USC began elsewhere.
“I only considered USC after my first semester at Syracuse University,” Claudia explains. “At that point I was planning to transfer to Boston University. But, it’s really cold up North and so I started considering California schools again. Once I got accepted to USC I knew that was the place.”
The decision involved practical considerations alongside academic ones. “Many of my close high school friends were going to UC schools and I liked the idea of being on the same coast with them,” adds Claudia. “I also liked USC’s high academic standards and knew I could get a good education here. My part-time work at ICT during my junior and senior years in high school also helped. And, yeah, I guess my mom working here was a plus and not a minus.”
Professional Foundations
Alesia Gainer’s career before ICT spanned international technology and media. At Sony Corporation, she worked in corporate planning, corporate finance, and business development across Tokyo and New York offices. She was a founding member of Animax, the Japanese anime broadcast network. Later, at PacketVideo Japan, a division of Alcatel, she developed wireless streaming content services.
Her entry to ICT came through unexpected channels. “When my youngest daughter was about 3-years old, I worked with ICT’s Hanna Dershowitz, leading a fund-raising effort for the pre-school program in which our children were enrolled,” Gainer recalls. “We made a lot of money, and I guess Hanna was impressed, because when I mentioned I was looking to get back to work, she recommended me for my current position.”
That was fifteen years ago.
Gainer describes ICT in terms that emphasize values alongside research output. “I’ve always thought that ICT was a very caring organization with leadership that sincerely believed in the tenet of ‘work-family balance,'” she says. “I saw this culture manifest itself in countless ‘Family Days,’ ‘Casino Days,’ movie nights and holiday parties. ICT leadership really recognizes the importance of our families and strives to be inclusive of all.”
Institutional Cultures
When Claudia moved into her USC dormitory, Gainer experienced university culture from a new angle. “The warm reception and hoopla that Claudia’s dorm organized when she moved in was very reassuring,” she says. “I mean, they had cheerleaders with pompoms and luggage service and everything!”
The next day provided sharp contrast. “I had to check my youngest daughter Bianca into her dorm at Harvard. (Yes, I had to take the redeye.) She walked up to the table where they handed her her keys and sort of pointed her in the right direction. Much more laissez faire.”
Another incident reinforced these institutional differences. “We got stuck in Claudia’s dorm elevator one day during her first year,” Gainer recalls. “The care and concern with which the DPS and maintenance people hovered around while the elevator was getting unstuck was so thoughtful, and a bit surprising! I think they were worried about us panicking, which we weren’t doing. They tried to squeeze in water bottles and maintained a continuous chat with us in reassuring tones. It was all a bit hilarious, but very sweet.”
She adds drily: “I think numbers of days would have had to pass before we were discovered if this had been Bianca and me at Harvard.”
These observations reflect accumulated experience. “I see USC as much more caring than I did before simply as an employee,” Gainer says. From her professional perspective, this translates into confidence about educational quality. “I know as an employee that USC, and particularly ICT, is a classy, professional organization that strives to do the right thing. I know that Claudia’s degree here will reflect a solid, high-caliber education that will serve her well wherever she goes and whatever she does.”
Separate Spheres
The daily reality involves little overlap. Claudia’s USC centers on her immediate community. “My real ‘Trojan Family’ are my roommates who are also my besties,” she says. “We see each other even during the summer. And, last Winter Break when I went to Vietnam, I was able to meet one of my roommates in Ho Chi Minh City! That was wild.”
The professional-academic divide remains substantial. Gainer’s days involve managing research portfolios in virtual human technology. Claudia’s involves molecular biology and ecological systems. ICT is located in Playa Vista, off the main campus. Their paths do not cross regularly, though the institutional connection persists.
Gainer maintains parental engagement through practical means. “I support Claudia by forwarding scary DPS emails if I think something happened near her apartment,” she says, using employee access to university information systems to monitor campus safety. When circumstances allow time in Los Angeles, “I always spend time with Claudia, usually in and around her off-campus apartment. So, her bringing me to the neighborhood and hanging out with her and her friends keeps me fresh on things youthful at USC.”
Building Traditions
The broader family USC connection includes Gainer’s (new) husband Alan, who earned his MBA from Marshall School of Business. “Alan and Claudia have gone to a football game together,” Gainer notes. “And I attended a rock show that her roommate Anna produced as part of her final project for the Thornton School.”
They are building traditions gradually. “I think in the next two years we want to make attending some football games a little family tradition,” Gainer says.
Looking ahead, she sees shared institutional experience creating lasting connection. “I think Claudia, Alan and I will together look back upon our respective USC years with warmth, and that USC will help keep us bonded. We’ve each had, or are having, a happy experience with the university and that will resonate positively down the road.”
Claudia’s perspective remains more immediate, focused on present experience rather than future retrospection. Her USC identity centers on coursework, roommates, campus life: the daily texture of undergraduate education. Her mother’s employment provides background context: “It’s nice to have my mom be a part of my USC experience.”
“My mom is my rock and her being part of USC helps anchor me,” Claudia adds. They don’t bump into each other much on campus, but when they do, Claudia grins, “My friends think she’s funny.”
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