For many Owls, Rice is more than just a university — it’s a place where bold ideas take root, where challenges spark innovation and where a passion for service turns into action. Across disciplines and generations, Rice students and alumni are using their skills and knowledge to create meaningful change in communities around the world.
This month, we’re featuring three Owls who turned their vision for a better world into reality by founding high-impact nonprofits. From transforming refugee shelter solutions to expanding access to education and healthcare, these alumni exemplify the power of purpose-driven work.
Life Basics, Lasting Impact | Change to Bee-lieve in | Building Solutions, Transforming Lives
Life Basics, Lasting Impact
The inspiration for Life Basics, a nonprofit founded by Priyanka Senthil ’24 during her sophomore year at Rice, began with a family visit to India.
“My Indian culture is integral to my identity,” Priyanka shared. “But when I visit, I often feel disconnected because of the stark contrast between my privileges growing up in the U.S. and the realities many people face in India. Some families live unhoused or in temporary housing, and often lack access to even basic life necessities, such as proper clothing and food.”
During her family visit, Priyanka drew inspiration from conversations with peers, family and community leaders. “I discovered that access to menstrual products was a huge struggle,” she said. Through a GoFundMe campaign and personal networks, she raised funds to distribute over 56,000 pads — an effort that became Periods of Power, the first initiative of Life Basics, a nonprofit Priyanka founded to empower underserved communities with essential resources. Today, the Periods of Power initiative not only donates menstrual products but also works to destigmatize menstruation through education.
“So far, we’ve been able to impact over 2,500 people directly by donating period products to orphanages, rehabilitation centers and underserved schools in India, as well as to foster care homes and homeless shelters in Houston,” she said.
Since this first impactful effort, Life Basics has expanded beyond menstrual health products and education to encompass other key initiatives, including Sewn for Success, which empowers women in India through vocational training. “I noticed that a lot of women were dependent on the men within their families because they didn’t have a source of independent income,” Priyanka explained. “Sewn for Success donates sewing machines to help women, including those in rehabilitation and orphanages, gain skills and create a livelihood.”
Cozy Covers, the third initiative of Life Basics, collects and upcycles hotel bedding with minor flaws for donation to homeless shelters. “It’s a sustainable solution for urgently needed items,” she said. The fourth initiative, H2O for Humanity, which aims to build water wells in rural Indian communities to provide access to clean water, is still taking shape. “We hope to collaborate with nonprofit organizations already building water wells to address community needs,” Priyanka added.
Priyanka collaborates with Rice students Elsabet Samuel '25, Sowmya Viswanathan '25 and Pankti Mehta '26. “After sharing my experiences, they wanted to help me continue the work in Houston,” she said. Their participation in the Doerr Institute Competition and Napier Rice Launch Challenge, where they pitched Life Basics, provided valuable feedback.
“Those experiences made us think deeply about how to address community needs thoughtfully and sustainably,” Priyanka said. “The support and resources that Rice has provided has been incredibly helpful in getting us started.”
Looking ahead, Life Basics aims to expand by creating college chapters nationwide. “A larger team would allow us to establish more partnerships and expand our reach,” Priyanka said. “One of the challenges is that this work does require boots on the ground — researching organizations and distributing supplies.”
A large focus for the group is securing sponsorships and funding so they can think big in the future. “We’re grateful for all the community support, because none of this could have been possible without generous donations and encouragement,” Priyanka said.
After graduating in 2024, Priyanka continues her work with the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative (ALCSI) in Boston while preparing for medical school. As a student, she served as president of ALCSI’s Rice chapter, expanding awareness and access to lung cancer screening in Houston and nationwide. Passionate about nonprofits and improving health equity, she remains dedicated to serving under-resourced communities and empowering others through her work with ALCSI and Life Basics.
To learn more about Life Basics, check out life-basics.org.
“So far, we’ve been able to impact over 2,500 people directly by donating period products to orphanages, rehabilitation centers and underserved schools in India, as well as to foster care homes and homeless shelters in Houston,”
—Priyanka Senthil '24
Change to Bee-lieve in
After returning from active duty in the Marine Corps, Rice Business alum Steve Jimenez ’22 faced a challenge familiar to many veterans — reintegrating into civilian life. But an unexpected encounter with beekeeping changed everything. In 2018, Steve founded Hives for Heroes, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans, first responders and active-duty military members through beekeeping.
“After a difficult transition from service, bees were able to literally save my life,” Steve said. “A friend invited me to try beekeeping, which I did not want to do at all, and it completely transformed my perspective of life. As we continue to share this story, other people have attached to that and found meaning behind it, and now we're the largest beekeeping organization on the planet.”
Today, Hives for Heroes has grown into a nationwide network, spanning all 50 states with over 130,000 hives under its care. More than just a beekeeping organization, it provides veterans with purpose, community, and support through mentorship, education and shared experiences.
Steve found striking parallels between beekeeping and military service. “There’s a physiological response when it comes to bees that eliminates all the noise in your life,” he said. “When you’re focused on a beehive, you must be focused. It’s very similar to our military structure — you trust your training, follow a specific process and build confidence, and that translates directly to life.”
For Steve, the impact of beekeeping extends beyond his own healing. “We’ve had veterans overcome addiction, broken families and debilitating trauma,” he explained. “Now they’re starting businesses, leading organizations and even helping lead our nonprofit. If you can heal with this little, tiny bee, you begin healing yourself, your family and your community.”
Hives for Heroes matches veterans with experienced beekeepers as mentors and facilitates community engagement through local beekeeping associations. Interested veterans can apply online, and the organization provides access to all the necessary education, resources and a supportive network.
“We started in 2018 with just a handful of veterans, rescuing and relocating bees for vets and the elderly,” Steve recalled. “Now, we’re international, with a charter in Australia and serving as the veteran arm for hundreds of beekeeping organizations. We serve 8,000 members and are growing. This is a community that serves every single day in their areas.”
For Steve, the mission is clear: “We can recover and grow from PTSD. If we do this together — let the bees do the work and serve in a way that reconnects us to ourselves, nature and others — we can heal.”
He credits Rice Business for playing a crucial role in the organization’s success. “The people and the relationships are worth more than you can imagine,” he said. “I love Rice. I went to every single entrepreneurship course, won the Napier Rice Launch Challenge and served on the board for the Veteran Business Battle.”
The Rice network continues to support Hives for Heroes in multiple ways. “Many Rice alums are already involved, and their support matters,” Steve said. “This organization saves lives. We need your help — whether it’s spreading the word, volunteering, donating or buying our Heroes Honey, which directly supports veterans and first responders.”
Discover more about Hives for Heroes at hivesforheroes.org.
Building Solutions, Transforming Lives
Scott Key ’13 never planned to start a nonprofit. His journey to founding Every Shelter, an organization designing refugee shelter solutions, began with a simple goal: to make a difference. As a graduate student at Rice University’s School of Architecture, Scott learned a startling fact — refugees remain displaced for an average of 20 years, yet their shelters are rarely built for such permanence.
“At the time, a lot of refugees were freezing to death in the middle of the night,” Scott recalled. “We started out of the belief that that’s not right, and maybe we could do something about it.” What began as a student project through the Rice Building Workshop (now Construct) became a mission that, 13 years later, is changing lives worldwide.
In 2015, shortly after graduating, Scott and his co-founder, Sam Brisendine ’14, secured a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) innovation grant. With this funding, they produced a specialized floor system and partnered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to test their design in Lebanon. Those three years on the ground became Scott’s true education. He witnessed firsthand why refugee shelter outcomes failed: the systems were never designed for long-term displacement. Frustrated but determined, he and his co-founder established Every Shelter as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2019 to change that.
At the heart of Every Shelter’s mission is a simple but powerful philosophy: “What it is matters. How they get it matters. Who makes it matters.”
Every Shelter set its sights on Uganda, home to over a million refugees. Their approach was straightforward but impactful: use local resources to meet local needs. “By deploying resources within the community, we not only reduce costs but also create jobs and stimulate the local economy,” Scott explained.
Their first major initiative was manufacturing tarps from upcycled materials. “Tarps are the number one requested non-food item in refugee settlements,” Scott said. “Instead of importing them, we trained refugees to produce tarps that last five to ten years, compared to the standard three to six months for UN tarps.”
In 2023, Every Shelter launched its first refugee-run hardware store in Uganda. “We wanted to give refugees agency and choice over the items they need,” Scott said. “We work with existing refugee vendors, helping them start or adapt hardware stores to better serve their communities, supercharging them for impact. It’s refugees helping each other.”
These stores not only sell essentials but also offer trainings. Refugees learn to repair homes and create products, turning the stores into hubs of knowledge-sharing and self-reliance. When Scott’s team noticed refugee women making mud bricks to escape living under tarps, they launched a brick mold lending service, helping families build stronger, longer-lasting homes while saving money. “It makes a real difference to a family to not have a leaky roof or to not sleep in the dirt anymore,” Scott said. “Refugees had skills and livelihoods before they were displaced. They want to work and support their families.”
This April, Every Shelter will present "Why We Flee," a month-long powerful photo exhibition featuring the work of an acclaimed Congolese war photojournalist. The series offers multiple educational events here in Houston designed to deepen understanding of the complex factors driving refugee crises in these regions.
Additionally, this summer, Every Shelter is running an architecture studio in the settlement, with a full-time architect and three interns leading a three-month design school. “I hope this is something we can continue,” Scott said. “We are regularly piloting new ideas, and this one I have a lot of hope for.”
Scott credits his Rice education for shaping his problem-solving approach. “Architecture trains you to take in a lot of different variables and synthesize that information into an output,” he said. “That ability to adapt and improve, combined with the connections from Rice’s generous alumni community, has been invaluable.”
Today, Every Shelter continues to expand. They purchased a building in 2024 for their domestic headquarters, with Scott’s co-founder, Sam, designing the renovations. As the nonprofit continues to grow in both size and reputation, its model remains clear. “Refugees aren’t one-size-fits-all,” Scott said. “Our strategy is: we’ll make it, prove it and then let others take it forward.”
Find additional information about Every Shelter at everyshelter.org.
“By deploying resources within the community, we not only reduce costs but also create jobs and stimulate the local economy”
—Scott Key ’13
