Hot clubs in your area

By Sejal Gupta     9/6/23 12:09am

The Rice Memorial Center was packed with over 350 booths and crowds of students scanning GroupMe QR codes on Sept. 1. The Student Activities Fair boasted clubs of all kinds. The Thresher has compiled a list of new and returning clubs for anyone on the hunt for another extracurricular activity.

Latino Medical Student Association

LMSA is composed of undergraduate, medical, dental, nursing and other pre-health institutions nationwide. Luke Alejandro, the president and co-founder of LMSA, said he founded the Rice chapter last March after seeing other affinity preprofessional groups on campus and wanting a similar space for Latino and Hispanic students interested in health-related industries.

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“[We] felt like there was not really a presence on campus for Hispanics to explore health professions,” Alejandro, a Duncan College junior, said. “Why not have a space for Hispanics to mingle and have a community within a community?”  

Rice Ice Skating Club

From those who’ve never touched a pair of skates to the professional figure skaters at Rice, Rice Ice Skating Club is open to all students. The club hosts weekly skates and specialized events, such as Kick Off Skate at the beginning of the year and Holiday Skate with hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls. This semester, Anya Gu, the founder of Rice Ice Skating Club, said Rice Ice Skating Club hopes to give more ice skating lessons to students. 

“Ice skating is very expensive. We provide opportunities for people to skate at an extremely subsidized cost,” Gu, a Brown College junior, said. “No experience is necessary to join. Most people in our club have never skated before.” 

Moody Student Collaborative

The Moody Student Collaborative hosts student receptions for exhibition openings and educational workshops. Maddie Garrity, the collaborative’s president, said she reactivated the club so students could get involved in the on-campus art space.

“I took a lot of art classes and [volunteered at] festivals in high school. I missed that engagement and community,” Garrity, a Hanszen College junior, said. “I’m really excited to see more people join and become part of this community.”

On Sept. 16, the Moody Student Collaborative will partner with Rice Climate Alliance to host a cyanotyping workshop and a reception for artist Laure Prouvost’s environmentalist exhibition, “Above Front Tears Nest in South.”

Women in Cybersecurity Rice University Chapter 

WiCys was founded last year to increase awareness of careers in the cybersecurity industry. The club hosts general meetings, recruiting events with cybersecurity-related companies and lunch hangouts called “Cyber Bytes.” The group also sponsors Rice students to attend the national WiCys conference, a national networking event for women in academic, government and industry cybersecurity fields. 

“At Rice, there’s no cybersecurity track under the computer science major. Most [computer science] students focus on software development,” Cuiyuanxiu Chen, the WiCys treasurer, said. “We want to make sure people know their choices for a profession in cybersecurity.” 

Houston Empowering Refugees 

Partnered with the national nonprofit The Alliance, Houston Empowering Refugees provides mentorship and support to local refugees aged 15 to 24. To support mentees' transition to the U.S., the organization offers academic aid, such as college application prep and resume building. They also host campus tours, museum outings and park visits, along with bonding events with mentors. 

Riya Pagilla, the president of Houston Empowering Refugees, said she has worked with her mentee for a year and encourages Rice students to join the program as mentors. 

Rice MusicMDs 

Centered around music therapy, students can volunteer, either solo or in an ensemble, to perform at local hospitals, nursing homes and hospice centers through Rice MusicMDs. The organization aims to use music to uplift patients and their family members. 

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