Tag Archives: rice university

Rice

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Last week, I briefly visited my alma mater – Rice University! I didn’t have too much time to take photos (and of course, it was very humid, so my available picture-taking time was rapidly diminished), but I did have a short jaunt to a couple of my favorite places on campus. At least, on the north side of campus.

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It’s a special day for me to talk about Rice, as the memorial service for one of the students at my residential college there (Brown) is taking place today in Dallas. This student, who unexpectedly and tragically passed on Monday, was one of the few people I knew of at Rice who could bridge gaps and truly make friends with anyone he met. He was an enthusiastic photographer, and I often caught up on Rice or Brown events by looking through his photos. I only knew him as an acquaintance, so my heart goes out to his family and friends who had grown to know and love him deeply. Continue reading →

Commencement

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I’ve been home almost a week now, and I still haven’t written about graduation. But that’s because it’s difficult to write about a place and people that you love, and yet won’t be seeing for awhile. That’s kind of what this blog started out as: a way to reminisce about Paris, a place I love and enjoy so much. But even though I spent a lot of time in Paris and grew to love it even more than before, Rice is different in that I’ve cultivated so many friendships there, I’ve learned so much about the world and myself, and even though Houston isn’t my favorite place, it can be because of the people there.

Graduation took place this past Saturday, on May 11th. For months, my roommates, friends, and I had been talking about the weather, hoping that it wouldn’t be rainy or humid or hot. If anyone knows Houston, the weather can be four different things before 5 PM. And, since Rice holds their graduation outside, there are bound to be times when things just don’t work out. A few days before, the weather said it would be raining the whole morning of graduation, and then stop right after at noon. I thought to myself, “Really? Really?!” I didn’t want my family to be separated (each graduate gets two “Inclement Weather” tickets if the graduation has to be held inside, because there’s not enough space for everyone’s family and friends to fit in Tudor Fieldhouse, which is why it’s held outside on the quad) on a day that was meant to be spent together with one’s closest family and friends.

So I prayed that it wouldn’t rain. My parents prayed…everyone I knew was praying that the rain would hold off until after the ceremony! And what happened? On Saturday, not only did it not rain during the ceremony, but I didn’t see a drop of rain all day long. It made my graduation day such a blessing, and allowed me to focus on my last day at Rice.

It was a whirlwind of beautiful, hot weather, family, friends, smiles, and tears, and one that I wouldn’t change for anything. Congratulations to Rice’s 100th graduating class, the amazing Class of 2013!

Last Day

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Undergraduate years are (basically) officially over. This feels weird. No one really talks about how it feels to finish university after 16 years of the same schedule.

I can’t thank God, my family, and my friends enough for helping to get me through these past 4 years though. Rice is the only educational institution I’ve been to for 4 years (I switched high schools after sophomore year so that I could participate in the International Baccalaureate program – and it was a superb blessing to do so! I’m really thankful for that time in my life.), and it is as difficult as universities come. The professors and peers (rightly) expect a lot from the students here, and it is definitely grueling – mentally, physically, and emotionally. All in all, the hard work over these past years, no matter what the outcome of my classes have been, has been completely worth it. I’m so blessed to have had the opportunity to spend my college years at a place like Rice, where I’ve met lifelong friends and learned lifelong things that I can carry with me for… well, a lifetime. So thank you, Rice, because even when it was an excruciatingly difficult experience, I still came away from the situation having learned so very much.

Happy last day of classes to all my Rice friends! Hopefully there has been some light and joy in the midst of this week for everyone.

Seasons Change

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This past weekend, my suite mates and I took senior pictures together on campus to commemorate our senior year at Rice. It was a lovely time – at first I thought it would be a bit stressful with so many things to look after, but our wonderful photographer, Alison Chang, of alison wanderland photography was so calm and kind, funny and creative, that she quickly banished any thoughts of “Oh my goodness! Must. Make. Sure. Hair is in place at. All. Times” from my head. Below I share my absolute favorites from the shoot. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did taking them.

 

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*The post title is a reference to a song I really enjoy called Seasons Change by Corinne Bailey Rae. And indeed, as we draw toward the last week of classes, I can slowly feel our seasons changing.