From the REA President, Felix Campos '08

Dear REA Members,

In 1938, Rice engineering alumni established an annual award for a student of good character and financial need who showed promise to the profession. Twelve years later, they formalized it as an endowment. That endowment supports our student grants and awards to this day. Those alumni looked back at the road they had traveled and decided to clear a path for someone coming behind them.

That instinct is REA.

I grew up in the U.S., but my parents were educated in Panama and were limited in their ability to help me navigate the American college and career system. I found my way through Rice, not without struggle, and what ultimately changed my trajectory was a Rice alum, Theo Mallinson '95, who put in a good word and helped me land my first job. I have never forgotten it. It is why I serve.

This year, we continued that tradition by deepening existing partnerships and forging new ones. We collaborated with the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership to deliver professional development programming for graduate students. We hosted a graduate student barbecue that drew 172 attendees, more than a third of them first-timers. We partnered with Rice Alliance Austin to bring alumni together around emerging technology and entrepreneurship. We relaunched our newsletter, which now reaches more than 18,000 alumni. And through our ongoing support of student grants and awards and our commitment to the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, we continued investing directly in students.

The Summer Engineering Experience heads into its sixth summer with record applications and strong momentum. It is a reflection of what this community can build when alumni show up.

None of this happens without the foundation laid by those who came before. I am grateful to my predecessors, Ted Adams '86 and Jim Pyke '97, whose support and generosity of spirit have made this role a privilege to step into. To my fellow board members, our partners across the Rice community, and every alum who has volunteered, mentored, or given: thank you.

This year, the School of Engineering and Computing unveiled its five-year strategic plan—one that explicitly calls on alumni to mentor students, open doors, and help shape the school's future. That spirit has always been at the heart of what we do. I look forward to seeing what comes next.

Yours in service,
Félix Campos '08

Formed in 1938, the Rice Engineering Alumni (REA) is the oldest alumni affinity group at Rice and provides support to our current and future members by working closely with the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. Our mission is to support, honor and connect Rice engineers before and after graduation. Membership in the REA is granted automatically upon graduation. All members are welcome at any REA event. The REA has been working hard to continue building the engineering alumni’s legacy at Rice and to make all of us proud of our alma mater. The simplest way to describe REA is that we are paying it forward. The education that we received from Rice Engineering and the previous generations of engineering alumni have helped us reach our professional goals. By establishing a pattern of alumni supporting the school, we guarantee the continuous improvement of the student and alumni experiences.