Affiliates

Affiliate Roles

Peer Academic Advisors (PAA) - Shayak Sengupta + Victoria Dobbie + Sajani Patel + Anniina Ala-Seppälä

They give a presentation that will further explain the academic systems of Rice as well as organize and command an academic help session for new students during O-Week. Although they are attached to one O-Week group, they are approachable to all new students and provide great advice for classes. While there will be year-long PAAs to answer questions in the year, your O-Week PAAs are fantastic tools for your first introduction to academics at Rice.

Diversity Facilitators (DFs) - Andrea Pinto + Christine Mai

Both Andrea and Christine help run the Diversity Workshops with O-Week 2014 the other DFs during O-Week. They are both here to make sure everyone is comfortable being themselves at Rice, and Andrea and Christine are available to talk to any new students about diversity.

Rice Health Advisor (RHA) - Sangwon Kim

The RHA is here to answer any student questions concerning general well-being. Sangwon was chosen by the Wellness Center and will be taking an active role in well-being discussions. Don’t worry if you don’t get all your questions answered: Will Rice has its own RHA’s that are readily available throughout the year.

Gophers - John Robertson + Will Byers + Omare Okotie-Eboh

The gophers are the coordinators’ best friends. When we need anything for O-Week, we send our trusty gophers. At a moment’s notice, they roam into the Houston wilderness returning with last minute Sharpies, kolaches (if you don’t know, you will soon enough), or even rust and gold body paint. Besides fetching last-minute miscellaneous items, they also run laundry duty for the O-Week shirts every day. They are awesome!

Chief Justice (CJ) - Jake Gorman

The CJ will give a presentation detailing his own duties at Will Rice. If you have any personal questions about the justice system within Will Rice or the university in general, feel free to approach Jake.

Photographer - Mia Polansky

You’ll see Mia popping around during O-Week snapping photos of you. Don’t worry, she’s not a potential stalker: she’s just our O-Week photographer and will be capturing the week’s best moments for nostalgic times ahead.

Videographer - Jane Giang

O-Week’s photographer last year is now our talented videographer! Like Mia, you’ll see Jane floating around with a camera except she’s capturing amazing video. Clips of what she records will be used to make the O-Week 2014 video that is featured in the spring!

Meg Cornaghie

WRC - Senior - KINE - Memphis, TN - President

Imagine the Will Rice quad for a moment. You’re gazing in awe at the pillared buildings (the comforting and cozy commons, Old Dorm in all its ancient majesty, the modernity of LEED Silver award-winning Newer Dorm) and wondering who’s in charge around here when you hear the dulcet tones of “Hail to the Chief” remixed with “Talk Dirty.” From the steps of the P-Suite descends the Memphis native who is surely a goddess made flesh: President Meg Cornaghie. She greets you with a flawlessly executed princess wave and a nod of her head, gliding swiftly off to her eighth meeting with Dean Hutch that day. Golden from the top of her head to the tips of her Jack Rogers-clad feet, this senior served a brief stint as an honest-to-goodness princess (Cotton Carnival, look it up, I swear it’s a thing) but soon abdicated her throne to better serve the phoenix. Aside from being Will Rice’s fifth female president, Meg also performs feats of strength and agility on Will Rice’s sports teams and mentors and nudges the O-Week coordinators toward glory. As both a Rice-Baylor student and a self-proclaimed big fat nerd, Meg can discuss with you anything and everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Kinesiology (except what department it’s under). The darling Madame President is also a certified Jameson whiskey taster, an international globetrotter, and an expert in all things sundresses, monograms, and having an adorable cup at every event. Having been thus educated about Will Rice’s fearless leader, you now worry getting to know the illustrious Meg McMuffin will be a herculean feat, but don’t despair! Meg delights in all things fro-yo, hedgehogs, and Will Rice! Just be the top-notch Will Ricer you were born to be, and you’ll find yourself with a loving and loyal new friend!

-Ellen Wendte, WRC ‘15

Omare Okotie-Eboh

WRC - Senior - BIOC - Houston, TX - Gopher

After meeting Omare you will quickly find out that he is one of the most dependable, helpful, and friendly Will Ricers around. He is also athletic and talented, but one thing he does not share as often is that he is also royalty. Say what?! Yes, you heard right. This Will Rice affiliate is of a rare breed, a Nigerian Prince with all the swag to back it up. Some of this fresh prince’s pastimes include biking for Will Rice, playing foosball, and dominating Super Smash Bros. If you ever have the honor of facing him 1-v-1, be prepared to accept defeat and to have your ego crushed. When he’s not crushing egos or busy as a pre-med tackling biochemistry, however, Omare enjoys all types of cuisine. If you want to be in this prince’s inner circle, the fastest route is through his stomach. Outside of Omare’s academic life he is actively involved in a Christian group on campus called Cru, and it won’t take you too long to discover that this guy is passionate about his faith and loving others through it! Athletic, royal, faithful. What more could you ask of a person? But wait, there’s more! In addition to all of these things Omare is also very musically talented. He plays several instruments including the bass, acoustic guitar, and piano. If you want to jam, just say the word. There is certainly more to learn about Omare… but we’ll let you discover this when you meet him.

- Nathan White, WRC ‘15