Here is a link to this years O-Week book!
What is O-Week?
If there’s one thing Rice doesn’t take chances with, it’s making sure you have a community that will help you prosper. Plenty of other schools offer an orientation program, but only Rice has O-Week. Orientation Week (O-Week) is your first formal introduction to Rice University and Martel College. O-Week is designed to be 50% fun and 50% academic. This means that the week includes a wide range of events and activities. You will hear speeches from the President and faculty members, see presentations from various departments, and learn all the ins and outs of general college life. Because Rice is no ordinary university, getting an introduction to all the quirks and institutional secrets will take a full week, but don’t worry. You will have a great time. The transitional week is packed with everything from physically moving in on the first day to class registration to icebreakers to late night food runs to impossibly ridiculous activities to traditional festivities. In fact, many Rice alumni still cite Orientation Week as the highlight of their Rice experience. To many, O-Week is like an additional birthday in August, for there are so many dedicated upperclassmen (advisors) there giving up weeks of their summer to come back early to cater to your every need. The goal of O-Week is to thoroughly acclimate you to college life both socially and academically. While you might not have all the answers immediately, the structure of O-Week allows for each student to have at least one “go to” person before classes even start. O-Week is about making the goodbyes easier, and your beginnings at Rice and Martel that much easier.
Mission Statement
Our Mission for O-Week 2015 is to foster an environment in which new students can understand and realize their potential to learn from and shape their community, both college- and campus-wide. With a thorough introduction to the resources available to them, new students can maximize their Rice experience and develop an identity beyond preconceived limitations. As new students embark upon their own hero’s journey through college, all of Martel will be right behind them, cheering them on as family does.
What is Chateau Week?
Think back to when you were a child. When dragons and monsters were only a paper’s turn behind heroes and magicians. When you knew that in this world, you could write your own story. With Chateau-Week, we want to bring you back to that world, which blossoms into reality in the form of Rice. For every new student, no matter what lands you have ventured from or what purpose you seek to find, Martel is your castle and Martelians are your guides. You have wisdom and ideas to offer, and will shape the future of the kingdom, even as your experiences here shape you. As you embark upon the journey of college and face your demons, overcoming obstacles you never even knew you could, you’ll know that your fellow new students and all of Martel are right behind you, cheering you on as family does. Because after all, Martel is only as magical as every new students makes it to be!