Lidya Osadchey '81 Give Student a Bird's-Eye-View of Life as CEO

As an undergraduate at Rice, Lidya Osadchey ’81 was offered every opportunity to learn, achieve and make a difference in the world. Through Rice’s pilot Owl Edge Externship program, she channeled her experience and knowledge as CEO of ESCAPE Family Resource Center to Rice students who hope to follow in her footsteps. "We owe it to the next generation of Rice alums," Osadchey says. "We were taught and given the best knowledge and the best models of interaction and excellence. It just seems natural that it would be upon us to set it free to the next generation.

Mentoring Helps Student-Athletes Develop Leadership On and Off the Track

Two Owls, the sprinter and the businessman, talked career plans and leadership skills every two weeks for almost a year as a part of Rice’s Student-Athlete Development Program. Knighton, the student-athlete balancing track life with the classroom, hoped to build her portfolio of professional experience. She took Gee’s cue and earned an internship at a corporate real estate firm in the fall. Outside of the comfort zone of her health sciences major, she used her leadership lessons wisely. “I learned how to negotiate business deals and how to work with clients,” Knighton said. “I approached each day ready to learn. Certainty is less important than curiosity. Terrence taught me that.”