Incoming Rice students already reaching out to Houston
Urban Immersion program helps students integrate into local community

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Forty-eight incoming Rice University freshmen and transfer students are arriving in Houston this week and next to venture into the community, where they will perform service projects and experience the Houston culture. As part of the Rice Community Involvement Center’s Urban Immersion program, the students will work with many local service organizations, including DePelchin Children’s Center and Hermann Park Conservancy.

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	Urban Immersion is an intensive, service-oriented program aimed at introducing students to Houston through cultural experiences and service opportunities, such as building houses, working with children and feeding the hungry.

Urban Immersion is an intensive, service-oriented program aimed at introducing students to Houston and the service opportunities. The program supports Rice’s Vision for the Second Century by fully engaging students in the partnership between the university and Houston.

The students will spend their days volunteering with local agencies, such as The Beacon, Star of Hope, The Women’s Home and Main Street Ministries, and taking in lectures to learn about important local social issues. The students will spend their evenings experiencing all that Houston has to offer. They will enjoy a performance by the Houston Symphony, take an international folk dancing class, attend a poetry slam, sample local cuisine and tour Houston’s museums, among other activities.

Established in 1995, the program continues to grow. Two six-day sessions are now offered for incoming students to allow more flexibility and encourage more students to participate. Also, for the fourth year in a row, Rice is able to offer the program free of charge to the students. Participants pay only for their transportation to Houston and a deposit, which is refunded upon completion of the program.

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In keeping with the spirit of the program, the students will live together in the communities they serve. This year’s program will be housed in Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Houston. This is an off-campus experience, and participants will have safe and secure — but simple — living conditions. Meals will be taken together as a group, and many dinners will be out in Houston so students can sample the ethnic and culinary diversity of the city.

Supported by Rice’s Center for Civic Engagement, all Community Involvement Center programs are based on three components: service, education and reflection. In addition to their direct service during Urban Immersion, participants will have short readings about the agencies and social issues and have opportunities to meet local experts and staff from the agencies for group discussions. Evenings will conclude with group reflections. Participants are encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings with the group as a way of processing each day’s events.