Established by the Association of Rice Alumni in 2005, the Builders Award honors recent alumni who have made outstanding contributions to Rice since graduation.
Past winners include notable regional alumni leaders, Annual Fund volunteers, affinity group trailblazers and other recent alumni who are committed to supporting Rice and its community of students and alumni through their dedication of time, talent and energy. Each has demonstrated one or more of the following:
- Sustained support of the Rice community through meaningful service and involvement.
- Provided guidance and leadership to current Rice students and/or fellow alumni.
- Enhanced the reputation of the university by representing Rice’s core values of respect, integrity, community and excellence.
- Dedicated time, talent and energy to advance the Rice community.
We invite you to recognize alumni who have graduated in the last 10 years who are building a better future for the university by nominating candidates for the award. Please submit a nomination.
Meet the 2024 Honorees
Rushi Bhalani ’19
Rushi Bhalani graduated from Rice University in 2019 as a proud Bakerite with a degree in computer science. He has remained deeply engaged with the Rice community, serving on the Rice Engineering Alumni Board of Directors, the Association of Rice Alumni (ARA) Board of Directors and the Center for Career Development Advisory Board. In these roles, he has helped lead a range of initiatives, including raising over $200,000 through data-driven outreach, launching a summer internship program connecting students with alumni mentors, strengthening support for recent graduates and reimagining alumni offerings.
Beyond his board service, Rushi also volunteered as a Baker College community associate, admissions interviewer, ARA Young Alumni Ambassador, Rice Fund volunteer and mentor to more than 20 students during and after their time at Rice.
Rushi is currently a strategy consultant at Accenture and leads go-to-market strategy for a billion-dollar platform at Indeed. He is currently pursuing his MBA and a Master of Science in design innovation through the MMM program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Will Eldridge ’16, ’17
Will is a “twice-Rice” graduate who earned his bachelor of science in civil and environmental engineering from the Brown School of Engineering in 2016, followed by his master of accounting (MAcc) from the Jones Graduate School of Business in 2017.
Will is passionate about contributing to his community through leadership and service. While at Rice, he was president of the French Club, an Orientation Week advisor and a Willy’s Pub bartender. Will has since volunteered as a McMurtry community associate, Rice Business mentor, five-year reunion co-chair and alumni admissions interviewer. He is also an active alum of the Awty International School, where he serves as president of the Awty Alumni Association.
Upon graduating, he worked at Deloitte, where he most recently served oil and gas clients as a senior auditor. Will earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (’23) and is a consultant at Bain & Company in Houston.
Past Honorees
Explore the history of the Builders Awards with a complete list of honorees dating back to the inaugural ceremony in 2005.
