Greetings Class of 2024!
On behalf of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL), I would like to extend a very warm and enthusiastic welcome to Rice! We are thrilled to have you join our community and can’t wait for you to experience all the great opportunities that Rice has to offer.
My name is Tia Gray and I am a senior Electrical and Computer Engineering major. I have the pleasure of serving as the RCEL Student Director for the 2020-2021 school year. In this role, it is my goal to successfully execute all student-led RCEL initiatives and to foster a strong sense of community within the program.
RCEL is a certificate program that focuses on leadership competencies such as leading change, empowering & delegating, building power & influence, and project management. The certificate only requires 11 credit hours, spread out over seven courses. This makes it extremely flexible and it can easily supplement any of the engineering majors. There are many topics covered in the courses– from conflict management to effective goal setting to project management and so much more! Through hands-on labs and team exercises, you get the chance to learn leadership skills that will help you excel in your professional endeavors. With one-on-one coaching and journaling exercises, RCEL forces you to actively reflect on your leadership experiences and to challenge yourself to reach new heights.
I’d like to share some of my favorite things about RCEL:
- RCEL shows you how to develop the leader in you. There isn’t just one type of leader, and RCEL teaches you that from the beginning. In RCEL classes, you’ll learn a lot about your personal attributes, and you’ll use that information as you develop into the kind of engineering leader that works best for you. Furthermore, whether your goal is to enter industry, academia, entrepreneurship, or research, RCEL can support you and will give you the tools to succeed in those pathways.
- RCEL is more than the courses. You’ll find that it extends far beyond the classroom and that RCEL has an amazing community of engineering students, talented faculty/staff, alumni, and industry professionals. The RCEL student leadership team, (composed of the Events, Industry, and Leadership Support teams) is a group of RCEL students that work together to provide resources and host events throughout the year. Some of my favorite events are the Women in Technology Panel, the North/South college movie nights, and the annual BBQ.
- It’s okay to make mistakes! RCEL courses give you the opportunity to practice your leadership skills by engaging in real-world engineering scenarios. Through a series of labs, role-plays, and exercises you’ll have the opportunity to lead teams and solve creative problems. These activities help you to refine your skills, and with one-on-one coaching feedback you get the chance to learn and grow from your mistakes before you enter your career in “the real world”.
- RCEL gives you tools to stand-out in professional engineering environments. I’d like to think that RCEL “fills in the gaps”. Your engineering major will get you in the door just fine, but it’s the RCEL skills that will truly help you shine! The skills that you learn in the program (interpersonal communication, delegation, creative problem solving, active listening, goal-setting, etc.) can be applied to any type of engineering project. These skills are crucial to leading high-performing teams and having them can set you apart from your peers.
I entered the program at the beginning of my sophomore year, and since then, RCEL has continuously given me the platform to learn and grow as an engineering leader. The skills that I’ve learned in the program have helped me to engage in successful engineering project teams, to engage in research, to present my results to stakeholders, and to coach other engineering students as a TA for RCEL 100 and 200. I’ve even used my RCEL skills to coordinate a cultural showcase event for the Rice Black Student Organization (BSA). I’m excited for each of you to embark on your own leadership journey, and along the way I hope that you’ll find the RCEL experience to be just as valuable as I have.
Again, on behalf of everyone here at RCEL, welcome to Rice! If you have any questions or just want to learn more about the program, I encourage you to reach out to me (tag9@rice.edu) or any of the other student leaders listed on the RCEL website. We’d love to hear from you and would be happy to schedule a zoom call to chat! I also encourage you to visit rcelconnect.org to learn more about all the amazing opportunities that RCEL has to offer.
Tia Gray is a senior electrical and computer engineering major from Columbus, Georgia, and is a part of Duncan College. During her time at Rice, Tia has been heavily involved with the RCEL Student Leadership Team. She has worked as teaching assistant for RCEL 100 and 200, has led the improvements committee, and now serves as Student Director. Outside of RCEL, Tia engages in undergraduate research with the Ajayan Nano-materials Lab and is a member of the Rice Cheer Team.