If you have any questions, email Eli Rissinger at er78@rice.edu

Class of 2029! Welcome to Rice and the Student Association. We are so happy to have you! Rice’s Student Association is the undergraduate student governing body. Every student on campus is a member of the Student Association, which works to bring Rice's needs and interests to the campus’s attention through weekly Senate meetings, legislation, and surveys. 

As a new student, you have a unique opportunity to get involved more closely with the Student Association as a New Student Representative, or NSR. The role of the NSRs is to represent new students from your college at the university-wide level in the Senate and learn more about how the Student Association works so that you can continue to pursue work in the organization throughout your time at Rice. As one of two NSRs from your college, you will work closely with your college president, senator, and fellow NSR to liaise between your college’s new students and the Student Association. You will do this by attending weekly Monday Senate meetings and your residential college’s Cabinet meetings. In addition, you will be selected to serve on 1 out of the 7 Student Association Commissions. Within these commissions (or outside of it if you have a different topic that you are also passionate about!), you will pursue an NSR project, focusing on a specific area of improvement or interest at Rice and working with your commission chairs to learn more about it. Your project is expected to continue throughout the year but can belong to various endeavors, including research, legislation, and exploration. 

Beyond your roles and responsibilities, the NSR program will provide many opportunities to familiarize yourself with the Student Association and Rice. First, you are expected to walk to the Senate with your college senator, president, and partner NSR - a wonderful way to discuss everything that happened at the meeting, including any conflicts, complicated legislative actions, or the role of the senators and presidents. If you are interested in other Student Association positions, such as those on the executive board, you can also shadow these positions during the school year. Many executive board members will host office hours weekly, which you are strongly encouraged to attend if you have any questions. Your other primary mentor in the Student Association will be the Director of New Students, who you will meet with every two weeks to discuss your experience as an NSR and in a commission, any issues you may have, how your project is coming along, and advice to navigate the Student Association.

Your role as an NSR also puts you in a unique position to interact with new students from other colleges. Starting with the NSR Retreat and Fall Student Association Leadership Conference, where you will spend afternoons getting to know the other members of the Student Association, brainstorming ideas with them, and participating in workshops that will help you maximize your time as an NSR, you will get ample opportunities to interact with members of the Rice community. In addition to these two retreats, you will also get to partake in monthly NSR dinners hosted by the Director of New Students and the Internal Vice President. You will also participate in the NSR Swap, where you will live the life of one of the other NSRs for a week. Some NSRs in the past have taken this swap so far as to do Instagram takeovers! 

Ultimately, the goal of the NSR program is to familiarize new students with how the Student Association works, hoping that they will use their experience to continue serving in the Student Association in subsequent years. You will also get to dive headfirst into the Rice community by exploring what can be improved and who to connect with to make such improvements possible. We hope to see you in the Senate!

Key Dates

Monday, August 25: NSR Application Released

Monday, August 25: First Senate, open to all & a great way to learn more! 9pm @ Kyle Morrow Room (Fondren Library)

TBA: NSR Info Session

Thursday, August 28: Student Association Semester Kick-Off

Friday, September 5: NSR Application Due

TBD: NSR Interviews (college-specific, may interview prior on a rolling basis)

TBD: NSR Results Released

TBD: Fall Student Association Leadership Conference

TBD: First NSR Senate

Fall 2025: NSR Swap

Spring 2026: NSR Retreat