Every Student Welcome

A new O-Week Q&A panel focuses on accommodations for students with disabilities.

When new students enter the Rice community, independence is thrust upon them. Having someone to help navigate the transition is invaluable. O-Week provides a unique experience of support via O-Week families, advisers, academic planning, campuswide presentations and fun bonding activities. For several years, Q&A panels featured speakers who covered specific student identities, such as LGBTQ+ or international students, educated new students about resources and connected them with O-Week advisers who share their identities. During O-Week 2022, a new panel for students with mental and physical disabilities was added to the Q&A roster.

When new students enter the Rice community, independence is thrust upon them. Having someone to help navigate the transition is invaluable. O-Week provides a unique experience of support via O-Week families, advisers, academic planning, campuswide presentations and fun bonding activities. For several years, Q&A panels featured speakers who covered specific student identities, such as LGBTQ+ or international students, educated new students about resources and connected them with O-Week advisers who share their identities. During O-Week 2022, a new panel for students with mental and physical disabilities was added to the Q&A roster.

Advisers underwent extensive training to understand the experiences of students with mental and physical disabilities and the resources available to them. “Part of my responsibility is to ensure that all aspects of diversity are considered on campus,” explains O-Week diversity facilitator Christie Vieux ’24. “However, it wasn’t until this year that I got a chance to hear about the experiences of a Rice student with a disability through a disability panel. I found that there was information regarding resources and how the Disability Resource Center works. I would have never known without hearing it firsthand.”

Not all disabilities are visible, and some new students may find it difficult to advocate for themselves and discuss their needs. “Advisers interact with new students on a personal level,” says campuswide O-Week coordinator Savannah Parrot ’23. “They support the new students with disabilities by pointing them to helpful resources and ensuring that they feel included and are accommodated during O-Week.”

O-Week is about welcoming students into their new homes, and nothing makes a student feel more welcome than being heard and getting the assistance they deserve.

— Emma Korsmo ’24