Terrestrial Biota, Rice’s Midshipmen and a NASA Podcast

Excerpts from Owlmanac

Horse

1950s
“We work with ROCK, Ride On Center for Kids (rockride.org), a 60-acre equine-assisted therapeutic center where horses change the lives of challenged children, youth, adults and service members returning from combat. ‘Healing through horses’ and ‘miracles in the dirt’ express what happens in ROCK’s arena and pastures.” — Contributed by George Brightwell ’57 (BA)

Moths

1960s
“I’ve taken up the study of lepidoptera, specifically moths. My process is to take photographs at a black light at night and then spend time the next morning trying to identify what I saw. That can be daunting since there are about 14,000 species of moth in North America. Moths are relatively easy to study. Being nocturnal and attracted to light, they come to you!” — Contributed by Ann Hendrickson ’60 (Jones: BA)

Owl

1960s
“I conduct a monthly Zoom meeting for Rice graduates in six states who are also Navy veterans, including my Rice roommate. We have a lot of fun recalling Rice memories, Navy exploits and tall tales. Any Rice graduates who were in the Navy are welcome to attend as well as those midshipmen currently at Rice and those who are serving on active duty.” — Contributed by Ed Ettel ’62 (Will Rice: BA)

Sea Turtle

1990s
“On a boat of just 16 travelers, it was a wonderful surprise to share my Galapagos experience with a fellow Owl, Kitty Schild ’69 (Brown: BA). When I’m not swimming with sea turtles, I’m mostly focused on farmed animals these days, serving as the chief operating officer of the national nonprofit Animal Outlook.” — Contributed by Sharon Discorfano ’92 (Wiess: BA)

Space

2010s
“I work on a podcast called ‘NASA’s Curious Universe,’ and this season we have a featured episode with fellow Rice alumna and NASA astronaut Shannon Walker ’87 (Baker: BA; MS, 1992; PhD, 1993). It was a joy to be able to share our mutual love of the university while I chatted with her to create the episode. As is often the case, it was a great day to be part of the Rice community.” — Contributed by Christina Dana ’14 (Martel: BA)

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