Rice University welcomes new graduate students during Graduate Orientation Week

Описание: Rice University welcomed more than a thousand new graduate students this month during Graduate Orientation Week, a series of events designed to help incoming students transition into campus life and connect with their peers.
The week began with a new tradition for doctoral students: a ceremonial walk through the Sallyport, Rice’s historic gateway at Lovett Hall. The symbolic procession, led by Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Dean Seiichi Matsuda, marked the official beginning of doctoral study. “You will develop into academic giants here,” Matsuda told the crowd. “This is your formal entrance into the doctoral program, and we are so happy you are here.”
Speakers, including economics professor Flavio Cunha and bioengineering professor Rebecca Richards-Kortum, urged students to find their purpose, ask bold questions, and lean on community support during the challenges of graduate school. Richards-Kortum shared her own struggles with imposter syndrome as a new Ph.D. student, encouraging Rice’s incoming class to “remember, you belong here.”
For many students, the week was also about forging connections. Rebeca Gabrie, a psychology Ph.D. student and first-generation college graduate from Houston, said the programming eased her nerves. “Before orientation, I was so nervous, because I didn’t have friends who had gone to grad school,” she said. “Now, after talking with my advisor and my cohort, I feel a lot more reassured.”
Others emphasized the importance of community beyond academics. Incoming master’s student Ainul Afifi Zafirah Mazlan, who arrived from Malaysia to study energy geoscience, said meeting other Muslim students during orientation was a highlight. “I was hoping to meet the Muslim community here, and I found Miriam,” she said of a fellow student. “I’m so blessed to meet new friends.”
Graduate move-in at Rice Village Apartments, the university’s graduate housing complex, also gave students and families a chance to settle in. Cara Baah-Binney, a new mechanical engineering Ph.D. student from Ohio, said she approached the move with a long-term mindset. “As an undergrad, I cared about making my place look cute,” she said. “Now, I’m focused on building a life here and making a home, because I know I’ll be here for years.”
For international students, the transition carried special significance. Agustin Zakalik, a computer science master’s student from Argentina, called moving into Rice housing with a close friend “strange but exciting,” marking his first time living away from home.
As the week wrapped up, students pointed to a shared feeling of optimism. “Every person we’ve met has been nicer than the last,” said Zainab Nazir, a psychology Ph.D. student from Arizona. “It’s been reassuring to know we all belong here.”
Graduate Orientation Week, coordinated by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, included international orientation, social events, resource fairs, and welcome addresses from faculty and administrators. The programming underscored Rice’s goal of helping new graduate students, who make up nearly half of the university’s student body, find both community and purpose as they begin their academic journey.