Meet Rice’s Graduate Ambassador Karyssa Courey

Courey shares her interest, experience, and advice to prospective graduate students

Rice University

Meet Karyssa Courey. Courey is a second year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Rice University. Courey is from California and is a Rice Graduate Ambassador. Ambassadors are students who represent the university and help prospective students gain knowledge of student life as a graduate student at Rice.

Courey chose Rice as a graduate school because of her passion for research. Her research focuses on how people are selected for jobs, how to detect and reduce discrimination in selection, and how people interpret numerical information, while applying rigorous quantitative methods. In even simpler terms, Courey loves statistics and studying selection in organizations!

When she is not conducting research, she is serving in various leadership roles within the Rice community. She is a part of the Volunteer Program Assessment (VPA) as a consultant. VPA provides pro bono consulting to non-profit organizations. The VPA focuses on improving the organization by understanding the needs of volunteers. She is also completing her Certificate in Teaching and Learning.

Courey advises prospective students not to limit themselves to any one thing, but to explore classes, research, work experiences, and travel.

“By gaining a multitude of experiences, students can better understand and refine their interests and discover what they are passionate about,” said Courey.

Courey advises current students to pursue research projects that interest them and to prioritize their mental and physical health.

“Grad school is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Courey. “It’s so important to take care of yourself along the way.”

Outside of academics, Courey enjoys listening to Flume and was listed in Flume’s top .05% of listeners on Spotify in 2022. She also enjoys going to the different parks in Houston such as Buffalo Bayou and Hermann Park.

Graduate ambassadors can be contacted via email at  gradambassadors@rice.edu. Karyssa Courey can be contacted directly by email at kac23@rice.edu.