The fires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area in the last month have caused an estimated $250 billion in damage and killed at least 29 people in Southern California according to media reports, affecting thousands of people’s lives including some of the nearly 1,300 Rice University alumni who reside in the area.
In response, a few Owl alums sprung into action, reaching out to assess needs and provide assistance.
Ross Chitwood ’08, a music professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, had to move when his home and the church he works at as the director of worship and community in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood burned. He has since relocated to Venice, California, as his church congregation searches for a temporary location to hold services.
“It’s almost overwhelming to know where to go and what to do,” said Chitwood. “We’re trying to find ways as a church and a community to keep people together as much as possible.”
When a fellow Rice alum Ruth Reitmeier ’92, now the director of coaching for Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, reached out to Chitwood to see how she could help, he only had one request — that his diploma be replaced.
“When everything burned, everybody’s calling you asking what they can do, and you don’t really have an answer,” Chitwood said. “Ruth asked me what she could do, and I was like, ‘You could get my Rice diploma replaced.’ And she was on it — got it done that day.”
Reitmeier connected with Rice’s Office of Alumni Relations which then collaborated with the Office of the Registrar to arrange the replacement of his diploma, which was sent to a family member of Chitwood’s who lives near him.
“I love the Rice community because it’s small enough that a friend like Ruth could just make that happen,” Chitwood said. “There’s an enormous amount of bad that has happened, but the amount of good that’s come in far outweighs the bad. People have just been amazing and stepped up in ways that you couldn’t imagine, and everyone’s embracing their talents and really using those to find solutions for what to do in the short term.”
To assist alumni like Chitwood and other victims of the fires, Rice’s division of Development and Alumni Relations has teamed up with a few alumni volunteers in the Los Angeles area in an effort to meet the needs of fellow Owls created by the natural disaster.
“We know that a diploma can’t replace a home, but in this small way, Rice can support our alumni who lost so much in the Los Angeles fires,” said James Hurley, associate vice president of alumni relations. “I’m grateful to the Office of the Registrar, my team and our alumni volunteers for making this possible.”
Alumni volunteers like Howard Park ’91, who are part of the Los Angeles regional alumni group, have helped spark the grassroots effort to gauge the needs of victims in the Southern California area.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about how to grow and support the Rice community, and I think across the board there’s a lot of things that we could do to support,” Park said. “Then the fires broke out, and I know that we have Owls in Pasadena and Altadena and probably in the other areas as well, so I wanted to do something.”
Park and other alumni volunteers like Tania Min ’92, former president of the Association of Rice Alumni, organized efforts to get the message out to other Owls in need and match them up with alumni who can provide assistance.
“If you’ve been impacted in any way, just know that we have Owls around the world and around the country who are concerned and want to help,” Park said. “Even if it’s just getting the message out and sharing the information, that may be helpful. It’s just about knowing that people care.”
If you are a victim and would like to provide information about what you may need in recovering from the L.A. fires, please click here.
If you are a Rice Owl who would like to provide assistance, please click here.
If you have lost your Rice diploma in the fires, the Office of Alumni Relations will help you get a new one at no cost. Please contact Sofia Horadam-Kalmus at sh168@rice.edu for more information.