Name: Abbie Ryan
Hometown: Plano, Texas
Age: 19
College: Hanszen College
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering, Classical Studies

Extracurricular activities: Hanszen College Cabinet (Sophomore Class Representative), Student Association—Director of Communications, CAPP (College Assistance Peer Program), Rice Tour Guide, Rice Vote Coalition, 2006 Hanszen O-Week advisor, Women’s Resource Center Volunteer, and Hanszen powder-puff team captain.

My favorite thing to do at Rice: Play powder-puff football. I started playing it my first week at Rice and have fallen madly in love with the sport. It is a great way to meet upperclassmen and get involved in your college. As captain of my team, I have loved leading this group of girls and can’t imagine a better way to represent my college, make new friends, and release stress all at the same time.

The thing that surprised me most about Houston: How much Houston loves Rice! We get discounts everywhere. We can visit all the museums for free, and every major sports team has “Rice Night.” Houston is such a vibrant town, and it seems as though most of Houston was built around Rice—we’re within a few miles of downtown, the Texas Medical Center, the museum district, the zoo, the theater district, and the Galleria.

What I like most about Houston: The accessibility—it’s all there for the taking if you’re willing to leave campus every now and then. With the Passport to Houston, we can ride on the light rail for free, allowing us to travel downtown for a movie at the Angelika, an Astros game at Minute Maid Park, a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, or a Broadway show at the Hobby Center. We’re within walking distance of the Rice Village—home to some great restaurants and the best discounts for Rice students.

Ways in which Rice has changed/shaped me: I’ve become more confident in myself, more sure of who I am, and better prepared to take on the world after life at Rice ends. I don’t mind standing in a crowded commons at lunchtime announcing the time of our powder-puff game to 200 people, standing up in front of a 70-person sociology class to declare my views on the subject matter, or even doing a math problem on the board for a 100-person calculus class. I’ve also made some amazing friends and had a lot of fun along the way. I’ll never forget the four years I’ll spend here.

Favorite food at Rice: In the Hanszen College servery: Parmesan-crusted chicken and Chef Roger’s homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream. In Houston: Pad Thai from Patu—so good. I’d never had any ethnic food before coming to Rice, but have since fallen in love with the Thai, Indian, and Turkish food found in the Village.

My plans after graduation: I think I want to go to graduate school for a year or two to get my master’s in mechanical engineering, but my ultimate goal is to build new spaceships for NASA. I want to be a rocket scientist.

Rice is: Challenging, comforting, nurturing, encouraging, but mostly, it is home.