Vallerie Vasquez / Junior / Martel
Does anyone hear that sound? Sounds like…slurping? Oh, it’s your O-Week advisor, Vallerie Vasquez, with a huge cup of boba as always! You
better Beliebe you’ve got the best advisor around: a junior from East Stroudsburg, PA majoring in Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences,
since Rice sadly doesn’t offer a B.A. in Justin Bieber Studies. We’re pretty sure she’s a mind reader after studying the brain for so long, because
she connects so quickly with everyone! Her infectious smile and welcoming personality makes you feel like you’ve known her forever, and
her advice as a Peer Academic Advisor AND Head Martel Mentor makes her a sage with unknowable wisdom. You can always depend on
Vallerie to lend you an extra hydroflask, scrunchie, or even a “sksksksk” if you’re lucky. She is NOT a VSCO girl, but she is a loving and caring
friend (who happens to care a lot about her crocs and TikToks). You better Lego HER Eggo, because she strongly supports waffles over
pancakes, just like she’ll support you throughout anything. You can find her at Coffeehouse ordering a double iced shooting star (caramel and
white chocolate latte) or at the BRC as a crazy smart research assistant, but this O-Week, you’ll find her right alongside you the whole time.
Congratulations- you scored a loyal friend, an insightful mentor, and a celebrity connection (after she goes viral) with Vallerie as your advisor!!
Malaika Bergner / Sophomore / Martel / DF
Meet Malaika Bergner, a Social Policy and Analysis Major from Chicago! She is a Fondren Library resident because it is the
best place on campus to study, unless she needs to catch some sun then it’s gotta be Brochstein Pavilion. Speaking of Vitamin
D, she loves getting out for walks around campus or just being outside while listening to the best playlists, made by her of
course. She loves music and dancing with her friends anytime she gets a chance to. One of her favorite things on campus is
the Black Student Association and she is always excited for their meetings and events. She also really like social justice work
and getting out into the Houston community to stay civically active. She’s a huge fan of art and aesthetics and plan to keep
adding to her huge collection of posters in my room at Martel. If you feel like you’ve watched everything on Netflix, it’s
quite possible she’s got you beat. Although, when she’s not binging shows and movies, she likes to get creative with writing
and drawing. Most importantly, it’s this rising sophomore’s first time being an O-Week advisor and she’s beyond excited!
Bill Huynh / Junior / Hanszen
Born in Vietnam and raised in Houston, Texas, Thanh (Bill) Huynh is junior from Hanszen College. During his free time, this Chemistry
major loves to dance and is part of BASYK (Rice’s hip hop dance team). He loves to bond through cooking and sharing food, so you’re
in for a treat. He also sprouts new recipes and dishes (but he absolutely HATES beansprouts, claimed it to be his kryptonite). Bill
is part of Rice Urban Agricultural club which helps to maintain the beautiful community garden, but ironically, he keeps killing his
rosemary plant (he says it’s from too much attention, or so he claims). This kindhearted co-advisor is excited to welcome you to Martel!