The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007 Page: 6 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2. 2007
8 students selected from a 'record-high 8.777 students; 24 percent admit rate: 35 percent yield; 50 percent female; 50 percent male; 24 percent
ercent African American; I percent Native American;49 international students; I'op 5 states rejm
/ percent Caucasian:
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virtcan American: i percent Native American; 49 international students: lop > state
•) varsity athletes', 134 student government members; tuiddle-50 percent SAl scores: 135(
s; 24 percent admit rate: 35 percent yield: 50 percent female; 50 percent male; 24 percent
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47 percent Caucasian; 14 percent Hispanic; 5 percent African American; 1 percent Native American: 49 international students; lop 5 states rt
Texas. California. New York, New Jersey. Florida: 449 varsitv athletes: 134 student government members: middle 50 percent SAT scores: 1350
718 students selected from a record-high 8.777 students; 24 percent admit rate; 35 percent yield; 50 percent female: 50 percent male: 24 percent
47 percent Caucasian; 14 percent Hispanic; 5 percent African American, I percent Native American: 49 international students; Top 5 states re pre*
Who makes up the Class of 2010?
Second in an occasional series
We randomly selected four students to follow through their
freshmen years. They come from different geographic
regions, have different academic interests, live at North and
South colleges and off campus. One is an engineer from
Maryland, one is a performance major from the Northwest,
one is a soccer fan from New Jersey and one is a varsity
football player from West Texas.
Football player faces the unexpected
117ten we last checked in with
Abilene, Texas native Ryan Kennedy, he
was happy to have returned to his home
state after a year at the United States
Naval Academy Preparatory School
in Maryland. Recruited by then-Head
Football Coach Todd Graham, Kennedy
thought he was giving up nearly-guar-
anteed bowl rings and championships
by leaving the Naval Academy, but was
certain returning to Texas was part of
God's plan for him.
Last semester did not quite turn
out as Kennedy, a Martel College
freshman, expected. An early-season
hip injury sidelined him before he got
a chance to travel with the football
team, and recovery from his November
hip surgery will stretch into June. In
addition to juggling 18 course credits
and football workouts this semester,
Kennedy also attends daily physical
therapy and twice-weekly pool therapy
Although this was Kennedy's third
surgery in as many years, he said he
still wants to play football because he
loves the thrill of competition.
"When I'm on the held, that's
when I feel at home — that's when I
feel closest to God and most like my-
self." Kennedy said. "I know I could do
a lot of other things besides football,
but none of them quite measure up
Ryan Kennedy
to strapping on the pads and having
a little fun. That's what it's all about:
winning, having fun doing it and
glorifying God in the process."
Kennedy said he also enjoys spend-
ing time with other football players.
"They're a great group of guys,"
Kennedy said. "They will help you out if
you need anything. We have a bunch of
really good leaders on the team."
Kennedy's Rice football career
took another unexpected twist when
Graham left to become head football
coach at the University of Tulsa. But
Kennedy said he never considered
1
transferring to Tulsa with Graham
and is looking forward to playing for
Head Fool ball Coach David Bailiff.
"I'm actually really excited about
the change," Kennedy said. "Coach
Graham was a great football coach
and agreat talker, but he was difficult
to play for, [and] he cared about
himself. These new coaches seem
like they will put the players first,
which is how it should be."
Despite the year's setbacks,
Kennedy said he does not regret
transferring to Rice.
The decision to come to Rice was
a spiritual decision," Kennedy said.
"I knew if God brought me down
here, there was a reason for it. It was
tough, but I was reassured by God
that I was here for a reason. I'm just
not sure what that is yet."
The repercussions of his surgery
also spilled over into Kennedy's
academics last semester. When he
returned home for the surgery, he
dropped down to nine hours and
missed a month of classes, returning
only to take his iinals. But his profes-
sors worked with him. Kennedy said,
and he finished the semester with a
respectable GPA.
Kennedy said he has found the
academic level similar to that of
the Naval Academy, and the adjust-
ment to Rice has been easier than
he expected.
"The stuff the Naval Academy
forces you to go through is a lot more
life-changing than anything I've expe-
rienced at Rice so far," he said.
Although he has yet to take an
economics course, Kennedy plans
to double-major in economics and
managerial studies with the possibility
ofalso fulfilling pre-med requirements.
So far, he has taken two kinesiology
courses,both of which he has enjoyed,
especiallythe KINE310: Performance
Psychology course in which he is cur-
rently enrolled. But Kennedy said he
is not going to major in kinesiology
because he wants to have a variety of
career options after he graduates.
"I want to do something more
practical," Kennedy said. "I'm an ath-
lete and [kinesiology courses] appeal
to me. After I'm done with school, I
don't know that I want to go into that,
so I'm trying to get the closest I can
to a business-type degree."
In the coming months, Kennedy
said health and academics will be
his primary focuses.
"I want to get health and get
back to where I was before my
injury," Kennedy said. "I'd also
like to make a couple more "A'"s
in classes so I can bump my GPA
up a bit."
—Risa Gordon
Maryland native finds
new home in Houston
Prior to the start of Orientation
Week, Martel College freshman Kris-
tin Anderson did not know what to
expect of Rice. But she was pleasantly
surprised by the fun activities during
the week, as well as the friendly, open-
minded people she continued to meet
once classes began.
Anderson grew up in a family
of engineers and had never lived
outside of Maryland before she
moved to Rice. After O-Week,
she realized she could thrive
even though her new surround-
ings were unfamiliar.
"Just the culture, I think, is
different," she said. "People
here... are more intellectual and
they want to be informed about
cultures and society. ... People
want to learn more not just for
the sake of grades, and I think
that's really cool."
Not one to shrink from the vi-
brant social and intellectual envi-
ronment, Anderson befriended
many people. To her chagrin,
she said her friends at other
colleges had trouble with adjust-
ments while she, because of the
helpful community, did not.
"I thought it would be pretty
hard, and then you know, it was
hard being away from the people
I'd known for my whole life, but
I feel like I adjusted pretty well,"
Anderson said. "Not to say there
weren't times when I wanted to
go home and just relax, but I
couldn't, obviously."
With labs, projects and prob-
lem sets, life can get pretty hard
for engineers like Anderson. She
plowed through, however, and
signed up for 20 hours of classes
this semester. But she admits to
playing hard too.
"I've gotten to know a lot
of really nice people and had
a lot of fun with them doing
random things," she said. "Like
my suite, we have an ongoing
water balloon fight with another
suite ... We would go out salsa
dancing sometimes and we
went out to a country-western
dancing place."
Anderson has also sampled
the Houston cuisine and enjoys
trying new restaurants.
Kristin Anderson
"They're all so interesting
and all really good," she said. "I
don't think I'll run out of places
to go, ever."
Anderson also played defensive
end on the winning Martel Pow-
derpuff team. WTiile she would
participate in sports anywhere,
Anderson said the residential
college system helps add spirited
competition to the games and
makes them more enjoyable.
"There's a certain amount of
pride in going from Martel," An-
derson said. "It was really nice to
have not just the team supporting
the team. ... A bunch of people
from Martel would come and
support us, so I think that it was
really good to have ... the whole
college supporting us and coming
to the games."
When asked if she would
change anything, Anderson
said she would work on her
own time management skills
but plans to work on that in the
coming semester.
Anderson recommended that
incoming freshmen try to lind
a balance for their lirst months
at college.
"I'd say for first semester
don't load yourself up too much
with classes and don't feel pres-
sured," she said. "It's hard to not
get caught up ... and feel like you
have tf) be really, really social and
at the same time really, really
academic. There's some sort of
balance there."
— Matthew McKee
GRACE NG/THRESHER
Martel College freshman Kristin Anderson studies organic chemistry In
the Martel Commons. Anderson, who is taking 20 hours of classes this
semester, also enjoys dancing and playing sports.
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Brown, David. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, February 2, 2007, newspaper, February 2, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443111/m1/6/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.