Larry Lim (Photo/Courtesy of USC Viterbi)
Larry Lim served for 36 years as director of the USC Viterbi MESA (Math, Engineering, Science, Achievement) program. He was also served as the director of the USC Viterbi pre-college programs and later the Minority Engineering Program (MEP). In 2011, Lim received the USC President’s Staff Award. He recently passed away.
Darin Gray, a USC Viterbi alumnus and director of the USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center, shared his thoughts about his mentor and friend.
“Larry Lim set a standard of excellence for engaging young people in STEM across Southern California. I met Larry over 40 years ago when I came to USC and started volunteering for MESA. I would see Larry in the then MEP/MESA office whenever I came by. Later, when I became an officer in the National Society of Black Engineers, I’d see him every day in his office full of cool stuff.
A few years after I graduated, Larry reached out to me to ask if I’d be interested in teaching young kids in the community around USC about science and engineering. He said that he needed someone who had an engineering and an education background. I had recently left my engineering career to become a teacher. With that meeting over a quarter century ago, I began my journey to what has become a career STEM education and outreach.
Early in my days at USC, Larry, who knew how ambitious I was. (I had graduated from USC with degrees in biomedical and electrical engineering and mathematics.); He asked what my goal was. I told him the first thing that came to mind, ‘To transform math, engineering, and science education in LA.’ He encouraged and empowered me to develop new and interesting projects and activities to inspire kids, parents, and teachers. He mentored me on engaging with USC leadership, as well as leaders in industry, education and in the community.
Larry created a foundation and left a legacy upon which I have been able to build and propel the USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center into an international leader in STEM education and outreach. Because I grew up in a single parent household, the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling served as one of my North Stars from my childhood. Larry’s calm and steady demeanor often represented to me an embodiment of the man described by Kipling in the poem. My mentor and my friend will surely be missed.”
Published on April 25th, 2025
Last updated on April 25th, 2025
