My very first memory of Rice is one of my favorites. I remember excitedly driving up to Hanszen, my Residential College, early in the morning for the start of O-Week (Rice’s weeklong orientation for incoming students). The morning passed in a flurry of moving into my room, meeting my roommates, and watching my bags arrive. Although I was only whisked across the floor of the Commons once during the traditional Hanszen Jell-O Scoot — an iconic O-Week event where students slide on a tarp covered in Jell-O — I felt like I was flying the entire week! O-Week was the perfect transition to college, allowing me to start my journey at Rice with a concrete community and a real home.

As a sophomore, I saw another side of O-Week as a Coordinator (one of the student leaders who plans and runs orientation from start to finish) and somehow that experience was even more magical! I spent the spring with my co-coords interviewing our team of Advisors, the upperclassmen who guide new students through the week. During the summer, we continued the work… and the fun! We bonded as we created Hanszen’s official O-Week dance between laughs in our suite, comparing notes on Rice lingo and debating the merits of Adobe vs. Canva for our O-Week book design. There were also shared moments of pure fun, like our tarot card reading era and even a weekend trip to Austin!

The work meant so much to me because it felt full circle; placing new students into the exact room I lived in as a freshman is something I’ll never forget. I poured everything I had into crafting the perfect Instagram feed (@espressoweek if you’re curious!) because I remembered watching every takeover my own Advisors made when I was applying, hanging on to every word.

Then, at last, O-Week arrived! Watching every car pull up in front of Hanszen and seeing the smiles and excitement from new students and advisors was a beautiful reminder of what Hanszen and Rice culture are all about. While screaming “Hanszen’s got that ramma jamma” during college chants, teaching campus cheers, and watching friendships and inside jokes form, I realized once again just how impactful O-Week is.

Becoming a Coord showed me that O-Week is forever and that Rice is a place where community is intentional, welcoming, and palpable. Now, no matter where I go at Hanszen and across campus, I know I’ll always have a friend — which might be the most magical part of it all.

-Phoebe S., Hanszen ‘28 (Published on 10/27/26)