What inspires you to remain so engaged with Rice?
Rice has been very, very good to me. I received a stellar education there that prepared me for a career in which I have really thrived. Outside of the classroom, Rice provided me with tremendous opportunities for leadership development and impact. Rice brought me into contact with amazing, smart, ambitious, talented, diverse, thoughtful students and faculty, many of whom have become lifelong friends, colleagues, and business partners - and one of whom even became my spouse! I will forever be grateful to Rice for my time there but I also find that the more I remain engaged, the more I continue to benefit from the Rice community.
That said, I also recognize that some students don't have the same, incredibly positive experience that I had at Rice. In that respect, I see it as my duty to give back and try - along with many other amazing volunteers — to improve the Rice experience for all — both in school and after graduation.
How have you evolved in your Rice journey since receiving the award?
I was incredibly honored to receive the Builders Award, which recognized my volunteership in a number of Rice alumni groups, especially engineering alumni, grad degree alumni, and young alumni. Since then I have moved away from Houston, which has made it a little more challenging to remain engaged through my usual channels, but has also presented opportunities to create new channels for engagement! In my time outside of Houston, I have worked with other alumni — and the dedicated alumni office staff — to develop regional alumni programming in Switzerland, Kenya, and North Carolina. It can be a tall order to build critical mass in areas where we have a small alumni base, but whenever we do manage to get a parliament of Rice Owls together, we all profit from it.
Bryan’s advice:
The network of 60,000 amazing, smart, accomplished, talented, diverse, thoughtful Rice alumni working in every industry and living in every place around the world is a TREMENDOUS resource — but it is only as valuable as you make it. My advice is to augment your "whom DO I know" mindset with a "whom SHOULD I know" mindset and proactively meet other alumni.
Whenever you are faced with a new challenge or opportunity, ask, "How can the Rice network help me?" Join Sallyportal to keep an eye on jobs. Seek out topic area experts when ramping up in a new area. Check the alumni database before traveling to new places. The alumni network is very tightly knit so never hesitate to reach out to another alum; you will almost always receive a friendly response. Let the Rice alumni network be your secret weapon and ensure that your Rice degree keeps creating value for you long after you have graduated.
What’s next for you?
As I near completion of my term as President of the Association of Rice Alumni, I'm reflecting on how differently this term has gone than I anticipated. I thought I would be leading the ARA through a time of strategic planning and innovation. Instead, we have been reacting to one crisis after another, pivoting and adapting as quickly as we can. Looking ahead, I intend to focus my alumni volunteership efforts on ensuring that all members of the Rice community have the opportunity for the same 11/10 experience that I have had and continue to have.
In the meantime, my family has recently moved to Boulder, Colorado. As things open up post-pandemic, I look forward to meeting my fellow Colorado Owls and traveling again - it has been far too long since I last set foot on the beautiful Rice campus!