Rice University welcomed hundreds of parents and family members to campus Oct. 3-4 for Families Weekend, a beloved annual tradition that gives loved ones a glimpse into student life and the vibrant community that defines the Rice experience.
From open classes and residential college events to the family breakfast and football game tailgate, the weekend offered opportunities for connection and celebration. For President Reginald DesRoches — himself the parent of a Rice alumna — the event underscores what makes the university unique.
“It’s great to welcome the families back,” DesRoches said. “For many, it’s an opportunity for them to get a better chance to understand what we do at Rice and how we do such a great job of preparing their students.”
Parents traveled from near and far to take part. For Houston resident Michelle Lieben, the parent of a McMurtry freshman, it was a short drive but a meaningful visit.
“It’s great to see him,” Lieben said of her son. “We love being close by, but it’s great to be on campus with all the other parents today.”
Lieben said her favorite moment came while cheering for her son’s residential college team, McMurtry, which defeated Martel in an intramural football game. Later, she joined other families at the tailgate before the Owls’ football matchup against Florida Atlantic University.
“For people who think maybe they don’t want to go to Rice because it’s too close to home, I can tell you that when my son’s on campus, he feels like he’s in a totally different world,” she said.
For Angelique Richmond of Naperville, Illinois, Families Weekend was a chance to see how quickly her daughter, a Wiess freshman, has built a home away from home.
“Seeing my daughter on her day-to-day at Rice has been really great — to see the community, how collaborative everything is here from the professors to the dean to President DesRoches to her classmates,” Richmond said. “As a mom of a child who came all the way from Chicago, it’s been fabulous to know that she’s created a family and that she’s safe.”
DesRoches said that sense of belonging is at the heart of the Rice experience.
“Everything is centered around the residential college system — the fact that the faculty and the students are part of one community,” he said. “They all know each other. The personalization, the culture of care — all of it is just unique to Rice.”
Despite the Rice football team losing a tough-fought 27-21 battle to Florida Atlantic, Families Weekend concluded with a sense of shared pride — among students, parents and alumni alike — in the university’s close-knit community.
“(Parents) talk about how their children have grown in the five weeks that they’ve been here,” DesRoches said. “It’s really amazing how Rice changes these kids.”