Keeping Cool and Catching Up

By Kyndall Krist

1960s
“In spring and summer 1965, I typically spent all night working on the Rice computer with Joel Cyprus ’58 (BA and BS, 1959; MS, 1961; PhD, 1963), Algernon ‘Algy’ Badger ’48 (BS; MS, 1949; PhD, 1963), Dwayne Chesnut ’59 (BS; PhD, 1963), Mary Shaw ’65 (Jones: BA), Forest Baskett III ’64 (Hanszen: BA, 1965) and others. When morning arrived, because I lived in an unair-conditioned apartment on Bolsover, it would be too hot to go home and sleep. I would put on a bathing suit and cabana top to go to the airport and take a flying lesson. It was cooler up in the air. None of the men’s colleges — except for the commons — were air-conditioned in those days, nor were most of the classrooms, so the students were capable of living without it.”
— Contributed by Pat Groves ’62 (Will Rice: BA and BS; MS, 1964; PhD, 1967)

1980s
“My choir, the Angel City Chorale, competed in ‘America’s Got Talent’! We got the golden buzzer from guest judge Olivia Munn and made it all the way to the semifinals. It was a surreal experience to look out from the stage in Hollywood and see Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum and Mel B looking back at us, then commenting on our performance. Mel B, also known as ‘Scary Spice’ from the Spice Girls, gave me a fist bump backstage. I’m not sure how I can ever top that, choir-wise. “I even got a brief close-up on national TV, dancing while singing ‘This Is Me.’ All of those Rice dance parties finally paid off!” — Contributed by Kurt Eggert ’81 (Hanszen: BA)

1990s
“A quarter century after graduating from Rice, I’m a college professor myself, and I live in Chicago with my fiancée. I’ll occasionally refer to the ’90s when speaking with undergraduates, and I’m pretty sure they are giving me the same bewildered look that we gave Rice professors when they spoke knowingly of the ’60s. I’d be keen to catch up with any and all friends and acquaintances who may be passing through Chicago. A good email for me is tonychen@alumni.rice.edu.” — Contributed by Tony Chen ’94 (Brown: BA)

2000s
A group of more than 15 Rice alumni from the classes of 2007–2011 (predominately 2009) reunited in a rented house outside of Nashville over Presidents Day weekend to catch up and relive college memories. Rainy weather couldn’t stop a trek for tasty local barbecue, but it led to a significant amount of indoor activities like board games and Fishbowl, which featured an appropriate number of Rice-themed clues, including Sammy the Owl, college cheers and, of course, Doc C! — Contributed by class recorder Clint Corcoran ’07 (Will Rice: BA and BS)

To access digital Classnotes, create a Rice Portal account at alumni.rice.edu/connect. Once registered, log in and click “Owlmanac Online.”