The USC student whose random act of kindness was caught on camera and posted on social media isn't looking to hang on to the spotlight, but he is hopeful that his experience will leave a positive legacy.
"I'm not a huge proponent of social media," he said, "but in cases like this I'm happy to see a positive message get shared with all the negativity we seem to be surrounded with today. That said, I hope people don't miss the message which is to be grateful and to humbly serve others."
The student, who asked to remain anonymous, was inspired in large part by his faith.
"I just figured that it was the right thing to do. He told me he was hungry and I had some food with me so I just gave it to him," he explained of the decision to give his lunch to a homeless man. "For all I know that could've been Jesus sitting there testing me."
For fourth-year hospitality management student Charlotte Gray Cannon, the one who shared the now-viral Facebook post, it was an inspiring thing to witness.
“I know most of society feels annoyed and nagged when a homeless person approaches them for money or asking them for something,” she said. “I hope by seeing this that they will stop and be friendly and offer to buy them some food and water if possible. Learn to give in other ways than just money."
Cannon's Facebook post has been shared almost a thousand times and has over 3,000 likes.
Like Cannon, the student behind the story hopes his actions spark more acts of selflessness.
"I hope people draw inspiration from this not just to "do their good deed for the day" but to continually serve others every chance they get," he said. "The key word there is 'others' because as soon as you do it for yourself, it defeats the purpose."