Connie Foo, Brown '09, Internal Vice-Chair
Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP)
RSVP welcomes drop-ins. If Connie Foo could talk to you about RSVP herself, she would tell you not to worry if you missed the first meeting of the academic year. Or the first meeting of the spring semester. Or all those meetings in between. She would encourage you to come to any weekly meeting - 9:00pm on Mondays in the RMC Miner Lounge - and try a few one-time service opportunities. RSVP appeals to Connie because it provides a very “holistic” approach to service, addressing a variety of issues through its five committees: Children, Education, Health, Environmental, and Hunger and Homelessness.
My first year at Rice, “I wasn’t being true to myself,” Connie admits. Although she was aware of RSVP’s presence on campus her freshman year during O-Week Outreach Day and the Fall Activities Fair, Connie focused primarily on her academics. “I did not think I could fit volunteering into my schedule,” Connie remembers. But she missed interacting with people in her community - as she had done through regular volunteering in high school. During her sophomore year she started volunteering at San José Clinic. By the end of her second year at Rice, she had decided she wanted to play an active role in RSVP and became a Brown College representative for the organization.
As a senior Cognitive Sciences and Policy Studies major, Connie has come to realize, “Either you don’t have the time or you don’t make the time.” This year, as the Internal Vice President of RSVP – and “the backbone of our organization” according to one colleague – Connie wants more Rice students involved in service. Another one of Connie’s goals for the year is to increase coordination and collaboration efforts between RSVP and other Rice student organizations. In her position, Connie sometimes sees herself as a detective. Navigating Rice’s system can be a challenge, but she believes RSVP and the Community Involvement Center give her a reliable network of support and resources, so she can find answers to her logistical questions and move forward with her ideas.
Get Involved in RSVP!
Weekly Meetings
| Mondays at 9 PM in Miner Lounge (Ley Student Center) - Drop-ins Welcome
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| Website | http://www.rice.edu/rsvp - Includes information about committees, projects, and events
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College Resources
| Find e-mail addresses for your college representatives under the "Contact Us" tab of the website
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