VISIT

Meet Our Tour Guides

Rice is full of amazing students who come from a diverse set of backgrounds and interests, and we are so excited for you to meet some of them! Our tour guides are passionate about sharing their Rice experience and eager to show you a glimpse of what it’s like to be a Rice Owl.

  • Cassidy Chhay

    Cassidy Chhay '25

    Hacienda Heights, California

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour and why?
    I love being asked about my experience at my residential college. I am pretty involved and invested in my residential college. I am not passionate about the friendly rivalry, and am open to talking about how other college life is.

    Interests: ARTS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, ENVIRONMENTAL, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Chacko Mathai

    Chacko '24

    New York City, New York

    Residential College: Martel

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour?
    My favorite question to answer is, “If you were not giving a tour right now, what would you be doing instead?” I received this question in one of my first tours, and it was my favorite to answer as it informs the student in what a day in the life of a Rice University student looks like while also adding a personal touch to the answer.

    Interests: RESEARCH

  • Chiro Ogbo

    Chiro '24

    Lagos, Nigeria

    Residential College: Brown

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    My favorite Rice experience is not one single story - being a part of the Rice Africans Student Association (RASA) helped me find a group of friends that I can more easily connect with, and experiencing the events, meetings, gatherings all form part of my favorite experiences at Rice.

    Interests: ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC

  • Chloé Khuri

    Chloé K '26

    Baton Rouge, Louisiana

    Residential College:

    Why did you choose Rice?
    I knew I wanted to go to RICE my Freshman year of high school. I’m not quite sure what exactly caused me to feel this school would be my home for the next four years, but my older family friend was touring colleges at the time and mentioned RICE to me at dinner. After he told me about the school, I just felt that was where I was supposed to be.

    Interests: ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC

  • Chloe Pesqueira

    Chloe P '26

    Tucson, Arizona

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    Walking through the sallyport for matriculation sticks out as a formative part of my Rice experience. I am a big fan of our campus so not only being physically and metaphorically welcomed in through the sallyport, but being surrounded by your college and people who will shape your next 4 years was super meaningful for me.

    Interests: COMMUNITY SERVICE, CULTURE, MUSIC, RELIGION

  • Claire Callaway

    Claire '26

    Dallas, Texas

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour and why?
    Is it easy to get involved in research as a freshman? I love getting asked this question because as someone who was able to land an undergraduate research position during my 2nd week of school, it really allows me to highlight how much the professors care as well as how important research is at Rice. I think that this is one of the unique aspects of Rice. No matter your age or major, undergraduate research is an option for everyone.

    Interests: ATHLETICS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, RESEARCH, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Connor Taylor

    Connor '25

    Nashville, Tennessee

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    Beer Bike! It creates an incomparable atmosphere on campus that both strengthens residential college pride as well as inter college friendships. Having been involved in the race for two years, it is something I know I will always be part of at my time at Rice.

    Interests: ARTS, ATHLETICS, ENVIRONMENTAL, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Daan Veldkamp

    Daan '25

    Houston, Texas

    Residential College: Martel

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    My favorite Rice experience would have to be my friendsgiving dinner. Me and my friends got to use Martel’s amazing kitchen to prepare a huge dinner. We messed around with the TVs and cameras that the kitchen is equipped with and it really felt like we were in a TV cooking show. I also think that cooking things together brought me and my friends closer together and that evening I got to enjoy a huge dinner with a lot of amazing people that I was able to meet in my first semester.

    Interests: ENVIRONMENTAL

  • Delaney Miller

    Delaney '25

    Los Angeles, California

    Residential College: Jones

    Why did you choose Rice?
    While I deeply valued that Rice is strong in my academic areas of interest, I really chose Rice for the caring, collaborative student culture. The residential college system creates a home that everyone fits into. The students here are the kindest, most passionate, motivated people I have ever met.

    Interests: ATHLETICS, COMMUNITY SERVICE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Eliz '25

    Istanbul, Turkey

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    My favorite Rice experience was touring the campus for the first time. I didn’t have the opportunity of touring our campus before O-Week, and even though the online tours were great, standing in the academic quad for the first time is a feeling I’ll never forget.

    Interests: ARTS, ATHLETICS, MUSIC

  • Emma Larson

    Emma '26

    Boston, Massachusetts

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour and why?
    I love talking about residential college committees because they often get overlooked but are a great way to finance and organize whatever you want to do with your friends at your college. Shoutout Hanszen cheese committee and Lovett sushi committee.

    Interests: ATHLETICS, ENVIRONMENTAL, RESEARCH, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Ethan '24

    College Station, Texas

    Residential College: Baker

    Why did you choose Rice?
    The community. I really valued a great education, but what put Rice above all other schools is how tight knit the student population is. Even within the first few weeks, I really felt like I had a great connection to the students at my residential college and generally felt accepted at Rice!

    Interests: COMMUNITY SERVICE, CULTURE, RESEARCH

  • Fredrick Gachoka Mungai

    Fredrick '25

    Kiambu, Kenya

    Residential College: Sid Richardson

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour?
    I like being asked about my life as an engineering student and the various activities I’m involved in. I can go on and on about my experiences in each of my clubs because they’ve formed such a core part of my experience so far at Rice.

    Interests: CULTURE, RESEARCH

  • Genesis Hahn

    Genesis '25

    Honolulu, Hawaii

    Residential College: Hanszen

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    Cooking with my friends in the college kitchens! One of my favorite Rice experiences is making fried rice and spam musubis late at night and eating a “second dinner” together, while talking and talking about other dishes we could try. I love making (and eating) food with the people I care about and it was really special to be sharing food from my hometown. I love that at Rice I’m able to meet people from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, and that I’m able to share mine as well! That moment helped me connect my life at home to my life at Rice, and though I sometimes feel homesick, I also feel like Rice and moments like these are home too.

    Interests: ARTS, ENVIRONMENTAL, RESEARCH

  • Giulia '25

    São Paulo, Brazil

    Residential College:

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    O-Week!! So much happens from the moment you step out of you car to people chanting your name to the end of the week, when you have not only signed up for your classes but met a community that will be there for you no matter what! I think that is our most beautiful demonstration of culture of care!

    Interests: CULTURE, MUSIC, RESEARCH, SOCIAL JUSTICE

  • Gwyneth Perez

    Gwyneth '26

    Houston, Texas

    Residential College:

    Why did you choose Rice?
    I chose Rice because for as long as I can remember I went to schools with a larger student body. As an introvert, it sometimes made it difficult for me to ask for help and get a teacher’s undivided attention. Therefore, when choosing a college, I knew I wanted to go to a smaller University where I can work one-on-one with professors. With Rice also being a research institution, that is nothing but encouraged here. I have enjoyed working hand-in-hand with scholarly and high achieving professors, even as a freshman.

    Interests: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENTAL, MUSIC, RESEARCH

  • Hayley Jue

    Hayley '25

    The Woodlands, Texas

    Residential College: Lovett

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    My favorite Rice experience is supporting my friends working at student-run food establishments! Along with my other friends, I love racing to the front of their long lines and trying to be their first customers of the day. Typically, we grab food from The Hoot and boba from East-West before studying in Sammy’s. I love how food brings people together at Rice, and I have so much fun supporting and studying with my friends.

    Interests: COMMUNITY SERVICE, CULTURE, RESEARCH, SOCIAL JUSTICE

  • Isabel '24

    Plano, Texas

    Residential College:

    Why did you choose Rice?
    I chose Rice because I appreciated the collaborative community that Rice offered. I feel like all aspects of campus life allow students to help one another and support each other throughout their college experience, from O-Week to Peer Academic Advisors to the Residential College system in general.

    Interests: MUSIC, RELIGION, STUDENT LEADERSHIP

  • Isabella Barone

    Isabella '26

    Scottsdale, Arizona

    Residential College:

    Why did you choose Rice?
    I chose Rice because I wanted a place that had great academics, but also I place I could develop deep connections. Rice had the small school vibe I was interested in and has also provided me with so many resources to succeed post college.

    Interests: ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC, SOCIAL JUSTICE

  • Jaylin Vinson

    Jaylin '25

    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

    Residential College: Sid Richardson

    What is your favorite question to be asked on tour?
    What is my favorite drink at Rice Coffee House? The answer is always the mango smoothie

    Interests: ARTS, CULTURE, MUSIC

  • Jeff Brover

    Jeff '24

    Delray Beach, Florida

    Residential College: McMurtry

    What is your favorite Rice experience?
    For me, one of my favorite Rice experiences was O-Week, specifically the matriculation ceremony, where freshmen walk from one side of the Sallyport arch into the other side signifying them entering Rice University. Then the superstition is you do not walk back the other way until graduation, which is something I have yet to do and plan on avoiding for the remainder of my time at Rice. It was an emotional and powerful experience that made me feel welcome and reinforced my decision to attend.

    Interests: ATHLETICS, RELIGION, RESEARCH

See our Tour Guides in Action

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