Hawaii Met Your Mother

Thomas Herring

 

You’re playing Professor X at ABL in chemistry lab. You mix in some Canada, a bit of FIRST robotics, some EDM, a little photography, and tons of coffee – you made a Thomas Herring! This advisor knows a thing or two about engineering – he’s an Electrical and Computer Engineering major specializing in robotics. He loves the OEDK more than Oshman himself, so if you can’t find him anywhere, check the design kitchen first; if he isn’t there, he’s definitely at Coffeehouse, Fondy 6th, or Duncan Hall (guaranteed, every time). In his free time, he’s probably off playing ancient games on his old Super Nintendo while eating Asian food. And when he isn’t building robots, he’s being a sweet, kind, caring, generous friend. Ask him questions about anything (he’s a physics god) – he loves helping everyone. Just make sure to catch him while he speeds around on his bike – he’s easy to spot with the Canadian flag on his backpack. You’re lucky to have Thomas around! Now you have someone to take to the Deadmaus concert, someone to ask advice about COMP182 from, and someone to talk about Adam Savage with – as he’d say, “solid, eh?”

Eric Shi

Have you ever wanted a best friend to keep you up to date on all things Beyoncé and what’s trending on Twitter? Even if you don’t, you’ll get to know Eric anyway, whether through the adorable puppy-filled emails (with ridiculous GIFs) he sends as one of Martel’s secretaries,seeing him walking backwards around campus as a Rice tour guide, or dropping social justice(Rice Business) wisdom in the commons. Because of his passion for social issues and medicine, Eric is majoring in Sociology and Policy Studies on the pre-med track. He’s dabbled in almost every major under the sun, however, and is always ready to whip out his four-year template and plan your life when you’re too stressed to think about it, bless his soul. More importantly, he’s always down to watch trashy TV and order late-night food with you even when he should be studying. This Houston native and pop culture whiz can tell you the best TV shows and movies from his lengthy Word document, the name of every actor and actress in them, andthe spiciest spots to eat in town. He’s also liable to stay up into the wee hours of the morning talking to you about your life and making you laugh, which makes him a great friend and most definitely a great advisor.

Sapna Suresh

Meet Sapna, a rising senior double majoring in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Policy Studies. More endearingly known as “Sap”, she hails from Cupertino, California and is the epitome of spontaneity. She is known to willingly drop everything and go on mini-adventures, whether they be to local parks or random restaurants. From the OC rooms at Martel to behind the bar at Rice Coffeehouse, Sapna has invested herself across Rice. Her high key involvement ranges from being Treasurer on U-Court to tutoring through Moneythink. When she’s not busy making lattes, Sapna can be found at the gym making gainz (or more likely playing ping pong or squash). While she’s definitely down to j chill out, she can just as easily have a deep conversation with anyone – and she’s extremely excited to get to know all of you!

Michelle Zhao

New Jersey has been the location of many historical events: the invention of the lightbulb, the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the show Jersey Shore. However, the most pivotal event the Garden State has ever witnessed might be when Michelle Zhao moved there from Brooklyn. This premed Cognitive Sciences major is the advisor and friend you’ve always dreamed of with her solid style, quality advice, and unlimited capacity to be ridiculous. Her friends call her “Fun Michelle” for a reason. She’s got brains, beauty, and grace with her Neuroscience minor, passion for public health, and killer work ethic along with an affinity for chokers and the color green, incredible fashion sense, and a laugh that can be heard from across a room. You can find her mentoring refugee high schoolers as the president of PAIR, studying hard at Fondren or Coffeehouse, or falling off her bike (gracefully). Martel finally snagged her from Wiess for O-Week her senior year, and if you’re in her O-Week group, your serotonin levels should be off the charts right now! Michelle is one of the most genuine, driven, and helpful people you will ever meet, and having her as your advisor and friend is one of the first (but definitely not the last) truly wonderful gifts Rice will give you.

 

Kaarthika Thakker

Imagine you’re taking a walk around campus with your beautiful, amazing Diversity Facilitator, Kaarthika Thakker. (This could very well happen in real life. Kaarthika likes walks. She took a whole class about walking). First you’d probably notice that she walks very slowly – her pace is almost glacial. Maybe she’s weighed down by her giant orange water bottle, or maybe her parachute pants are catching the wind and slowing her down. It’s okay though – this snail-like speed gives you time to talk. Kaarthika likes talking. She’ll ask you lots of deep, personal questions. She’ll also tell you about herself. She’ll tell you all about the hidden gems of her home state of Ohio. Your first stop on this walk is the KTRU station, where Kaarthika dominates the airwaves on the reg. You talk about music – she knows many a band and her music taste is better than yours. It just is. It’s a fact. Next, you’ll go to Coffeehouse, Kaarthika’s favorite study spot/second home. She’ll inevitably run into someone from one of her classes, and you’ll end up talking about computer science or sociology, her two majors. Then you’ll pop over to the Women’s Resource Center to chat with whoever’s there. You might talk about art, which Kaarthika knows so much about it almost seems like she’s speaking in an incomprehensible code. On the way out of the RMC, Kaarthika will point out her spirit tree. Why don’t I have a spirit tree, you might ask. It’s okay, Kaarthika will help you find it as you walk back to her room at Lovett for a cup of tea – she has tea out the wazoo and can make mean cup of Chai.