Incoming freshmen interested in exploring their burgeoning curiosity in higher education were welcomed to Rice University this summer with RISE, an acronym standing for responsibility, inclusion and student empowerment, which familiarizes them with both the campus and Houston.
At its core, RISE is an introductory seminar that informs the diversity, place and transformative power of a higher education experience.
Brittany Robertson, associate director of diversity, equity and inclusion for undergraduate programs and co-director of RISE, said this two-week experience provides students with academic preparation, community building, resources and capacity building as well as informs the incoming class about Rice resources.
“Many of our students are interested in humanities, social science, business and architecture, so we want to provide some aspect of experiential learning where students can experience the community and tie together the lessons from the book they are reading in class to what is happening in the Houston area,” Robertson said. “The course is focused on Houston’s power and place … so that they can connect the dots between what’s happening in the city and what’s happening in the classroom.”
One main tenet of the experience is exploring themes in a text penned by Ruth Simmons, a President’s Distinguished Fellow, titled “Up Home: One Girl’s Journey,” a New York Times bestseller now in its third printing.
The memoir chronicles Simmons’ life from growing up on farmland in East Texas to living in Houston’s Fifth Ward to attending college in New Orleans at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. She depicts a bygone era that’s also a legacy of inequality that lives on today. It is both an origin story set in the segregated South and the uplifting chronicle of a girl whose intellect, grace and curiosity guide her as she creates a place for herself in the world.
The campers also took part in bike rides to explore the neighboring communities, classroom studies to jump-start their upcoming academic careers and hearty dining periods with fellow incoming students to provide a respite from their hard work while simultaneously building their network on campus.
“RISE is an important program at Rice because it provides an opportunity to engage in topics that are intentional,” Robertson said. “The students are able to build community and learn about Rice and Houston. There is support throughout the year with holistic advising and programming, which provides students the ability to grow individually as well as become a part of the larger whole.”
Many of the students report that their involvement has provided a catalyst to spur them in their future endeavors.
“The highlight of the RISE program for me is meeting the incoming freshmen and the mentors and professors and having this support system and community coming into my freshman year,” said DaVonte Smith, an architecture student. “Coming into Rice this fall, I’m really interested to know the campus and Houston. I’m interested in the city and the diversity it has to offer.”
The mentors who oversaw RISE were Rice students who supported the program’s activities and were well prepared to translate the Rice experience to the incoming freshmen.
“When you have a community full of people who are all willing to learn and grow together, it builds a lot of confidence as you lean on one another and as you grow from experiences you encounter,” said sophomore Heaven Ward, a RISE mentor.
The incoming class was prepared to absorb all the institutional knowledge passed its direction.
“One of my highlights has been the seminars. I’ve been very driven by reading ‘Up Home’ by Dr. Simmons,” said incoming freshman Jazmin Mendoza.
“Getting to know Dr. Simmons has been an inspiring experience,” said fellow student Jesse Muñiz.
Vanessa Cruz summed up her experience with a call to all future students.
“I really have enjoyed RISE,” she said. “If I could do it again, I would.”
The incoming Class of 2028 includes an assortment of incoming freshmen and transfer students who will study underneath Rice’s more than 50 undergraduate majors across seven divisions of study, including architecture, engineering, business, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences.