After years of avoiding athletics, Helena, Brown ‘28, found a judgment-free, positive community at Brown College. Discover her transformation from self-proclaimed orchestra kid to bike captain!

Moving from Hawai’i to Houston, Tamara, Martel ‘29, expected a world of difference. What she didn’t expect, however, was the wealth of opportunities to make a difference through local volunteering and the Alternative Spring Break Program — all thanks to the community she found beyond the hedges.

Maha, a PhD student in the Human Factors and Human-Computer Interaction program, came to Rice looking for a way to bridge different fields of study and found a community along the way. Here’s how becoming president of the student chapter of the Rice Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) turned an educational journey into a shared mission.