Mickey and PlutO-Week: The Happiest Week on Earth
Coordinators Welcome!
Greetings, and welcome to Jones: The Happiest Place on Earth! Our names are Charlotte, Sophia, and Sameer, and we are your O-Week coordinators (Head Imagineers), and we are so excited to meet and get to know each and every one of you. We were elected last January by our fellow Jonesians and have been working constantly ever since to prepare for your arrival. Our major tasks included picking a theme – Mickey and PlutO-Week, selecting your advisors, and planning a week full of activities aimed at preparing you for your life here at Rice. Through this week-long introduction to life at Jones and at Rice, you too will learn how awesome and supportive our community is and why students keep wanting to give back. Orientation Week is one of the best and most celebrated traditions in Rice history. Unlike other similar institutions, Rice allows for a full week where incoming new students and a handful of carefully selected advisors and affiliates are the only people on campus. This time is spent preparing you for the social and academic changes you will experience when you begin your college career. With feedback along the way from our adult team, we have planned an entire week that is completely designed around what is best for you, the new student. During O-Week you will have many opportunities to register for classes, explore Houston, and begin forming relationships that will shape you for the rest of your life. You will probably have experiences that push you outside your comfort zone or and encounter people whose lifestyles are completely different from your own. It is important to keep an open mind and realize that your view of life and sense of self may be shaped in ways that you cannot yet imagine over the next four years. Just remember to stay true to yourself and trust that everyone here at Rice is invested in your success. In the immortal words of Walt Disney: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” We are confident that after completing O-Week and your first year here at Rice, you will know in your heart that you were always meant to come to Rice and(fine either way but I think this is more fluent) to be a Jonesian. “They say that Disney World is the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’ Obviously, they’ve never been to Mary Gibbs Jones College.” –Mary Gibbs Jones
WE ARE SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU!!!!
How best to describe Charlotte Larson? For starters, this O-Week exec hails from the strange and distant land of Portland, OR, where she spends a minimum of two hours per day frolicingfrolicking through the woods in the rain and giving thanks to her native land for giving her Sasquatch music festival. While at Rice, this West Coast wonder does her best to fill her schedule from morning to midnight in order to cope with her extreme fear of the phenomenon known as “free time.” She achieves this by working two on-campus jobs, holding multiple positions for Jones College, doing daily workouts or runs at the Rec center, playing powderpuff for Jones, studying diligently at Coffeehouse, keeping up with her vast network of friends across campus, and, of course, coordinating your O-Week. If there’s a leadership position, sport, organization, or service trip at Rice you’re curious about, don’t hesitate to ask Char. Chances are good that she’s tried it. But don’t worry, no matter how much she has going on, Charlotte always makes time for her fellow Jonesians. If you hear her distinctively enthusiastic voice or her melodious laugh echoing down the hallway, step out of your room and say hi! This girl is sweet, funny, ridiculously outgoing, and, above all, the most loyal and caring friend you could have. Don’t miss your chance to get to know her come O-Week.
A beautiful brunette hailing from California, Sophia Beltran is one San Diego sweetie you definitely want to meet. She is passionate about community service, and takes time to give back: this summer she travelled to Peru to teach nutrition to kids. When she’s not fulfilling exercising her love for philanthropy in foreign countries, you can usually find her running miles without breaking a sweat, tearing up the bike track, or being a beast on the flag football field. She is also a Rice Health Advisor, always prepared with band-aids, cough drops, and advice when you need it. The only thing she loves more than fitness is Pinterest, and the only thing she loves more than Pinterest is her friends. Sophia is always up for some Mexican food or just a cup of tea, and though she may appear quieter at first, this girl is full of fun. You’ll recognize her by her usual braid – branded the ‘power braid’ – and her charming smile. This crazy-active lady is more than just a superhero, however; she is an amazing friend, and she will always take the time to listen unselfishly, putting her friends first. As if all this wasn’t enough, she is basically an expert on bunny cuteness, having seen and commented on virtually all bunny pictures on the internet. Most importantly, Sophia is an incredibly insightful leader and friend, and she will always have your back. Get ready for an amazing O-Week!
Many people claim there are no natural-born leaders,. Bbut those people have never met Sameer Kini. It is rumored that the most interesting man in the world contacts asks him daily on how to be more interesting. Sameer is always repping Beantown and considers Christmas his third favorite holiday, after Beer Bike and Ice Day. This born and raised Bostonian is very serious about both professional sports (go Red Sox!) and intramural sports (Jones Wins Again!). As a freshman flag coach, he’s been known to push the Jones Hard Men to their limits, and to victory. When he’s not putting the team on his back or slaying Orgo II, this tenacious psych pre-med is putting weights on his back; you can always find him CrossFitting and getting yolked in the Jones workout room. A World Series champion, Sameer more than embodies the winningness that is Jones. But don’t let his tough guy facade fool you, this secret softie melts into a puddle of hugs and kisses every time he sees a baby. Get to know him and you’ll find that he’s one of the kindest, most welcoming, and most spirited people you’ll ever meet. Though he is a man of many names - SameerKat, Sammy K – there is only one Sameer Kini. Prepare yourself to have the best week of your life with this man at the helm.