Rohit Padmanabhan '06

President of the Nashville Association of Rice Alumni, Alumni Interviewer for Prospective Students

In what roles have you volunteered for Rice?

I have volunteered as a RAVA interviewer for several years (one of my favorite activities!), and after moving to Nashville and organizing ad hoc events for the last year, I now have the pleasure of serving as the President of the Nashville Association of Rice Alumni.

Why do you volunteer for Rice?

There’s no question that Rice provided me with an incredible education and a heightened ability to think critically, but day to day, what I notice most is the social benefit of my Rice experience. Owls are everywhere, and they are amazing! Volunteering allows me to continue socializing and networking with fellow Owls, and perhaps more importantly, allows me to ensure that the same experience will continue to be available to current and future Owls.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering at Rice?

Meeting new Owls is my favorite part of volunteering at Rice. There’s something really unique about all the Owls I’ve met since my first trip to Houston; I think it’s a combination of Rice attracting special people, and then those people sharing an incredible experience that bonds them together when they ultimately go on to do great things. Learning about my fellow Owls and their experiences during and after Rice never gets old!

What's a fun Rice fact about you?

My wife and I both went to Rice, and while we overlapped for 2 years, we never met on campus. It wasn’t until more than a decade later while visiting Houston for an Owl wedding that an ‘09 friend from NYC introduced me to her friend who was working in Houston for the year. The Rice network is so intimate and still so powerful!

Why should others volunteer for Rice?

Rice has a tradition of molding the best and brightest into something even greater, and volunteering is the purest form of giving back to the community so that it can maintain and improve on the experience that has shaped us all so significantly. Volunteers are the heart of the Rice experience!