About O-Week

Orientation Week (referred to as O-Week) is a week-long orientation where New Students are introduced to Rice and their respective Residential Colleges. Each Residential College hosts their own O-Week with their own theme and special events. This year, Martel's O-Week theme is TechnO-Week! O-Week will take place the week before classes begin (Aug. 17-23) and is meant to ease the transition into college-life and Rice culture. During TechnO-Week, New Students will be placed into groups with 9-10 other New Students and 4 or 5 Advisors that they will spend the bulk of the week with. Ideally, each New Student should leave O-Week with an understanding of academics at Rice and connections to peers and resources that will guide them through the rest of their time at Rice.

Advisors are returning Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors who serve as mentors for New Students during and after O-Week. Each group will have 3 or 4 Advisors from Martel and 1 Co-Advisor from a different Residential College. They will lead the New Students from event to event and remain both a friend and a resource throughout each New Student's first year at Rice. Advisors spend the week before O-Week planning for their group and personalizing it to each New Student, so that each feels supported and seen.

O-Week is 50% Academics and 50% Bonding. Part of the week is spent learning how to navigate the various academic resources Rice has to offer as well as planning course schedules for the Fall semester. This is done in tandem with Peer Academic Advisors (PAAs), Faculty Advisors, and representatives from the Office of Academic Advising (OAA). The rest of O-Week is spent acclimating to Rice culture, learning about Martel and its traditions, and building connections with peers! This is done through college-specific bonding events as well as cross-college activities.