Rice Externship ProgramWhen did you start volunteering for Rice? How long have you been a volunteer?
I started in 2021 and have participated in the externship program three times (2021, 2022 and 2023).
Why do you volunteer for Rice?
I am beyond grateful for my Rice degree, though I do not think I sufficiently realized that value while I was in school. Since graduating, I have continued to follow Rice closely. I'm still in regular communication with my major professor, Dr. Dale Spence (also a Rice alum). I read Rice Magazine when it arrives in my mailbox. I read the various emails I get from the university, and I follow the Rice Owls sports teams. Everything I hear and see tells me that Rice is an uncommon place that operates differently on a high, high level. This makes it a place I want to be associated with, so I volunteer to stay involved with Rice. Since I don't live in Houston (or even in Texas), this is an easy way for me to be connected and to give back.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering at Rice?
As a college professor, I enjoy being around students. Full stop. But there is something about Rice students that is different. They are always eager, intelligent, polite and interested in what's going on around them. Part of this excellence is that Rice can select the cream of the academic crop. However, Rice also fans the students' flames and provides an environment that molds excellent young people.
What's a fun Rice fact about you?
I was a student athletic trainer from 1979-80 and majored in the sports medicine track of physical education. It's been quite an interesting journey from the sidelines of Rice Stadium to my current career in performing arts medicine. I think about what we didn't know regarding concussions back then, and now I study concussions in stunt performers. I could not do this without being launched from Rice.
What would you say to your fellow alumni/parents/friends to encourage them to volunteer for Rice?
Stick your toe in the water. Before you know it, you'll be jumping in! Who wouldn't want to go swimming in the river of success?