When I (Lexi O., Baker ‘28) was applying to college, I assumed getting involved in medical research was something that would take years to accomplish. But after my first year at Rice, that goal took shape sooner than expected. Here’s how I ended up working in an Alzheimer’s research lab in the Med Center.

When I (Veronica Z., Will Rice ‘29) arrived at Rice as a Political Science and History student on a pre-law track, I expected a traditional path: student organizations, research and campus debates. However, taking a sociology course unexpectedly led me across the Texas Panhandle to investigate a potential wrongful conviction — and ultimately co-produce a documentary.

As a Social Policy Analysis and Global Affairs major, I (Sammi F., Chao ‘27) never expected to spend a summer designing maternal health devices in Kenya. Through the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, I traveled to Nairobi to help prototype low-cost devices targeting postpartum hemorrhage and pre-eclampsia. Here’s how stepping outside my academic comfort zone ended up teaching me one of the most valuable lessons of my college career.