With Rice University’s redesigned Academic Quadrangle, the campus’s most iconic green space has evolved from a scenic walkway into a vibrant hub of study, conversation and community. The redesign, unveiled in September 2024, features ample shaded seating, flexible gathering nodes, performance zones, communal tables equipped with power and Wi-Fi, as well as spaces for reflection and discourse. It has reshaped how students use the quad and experience campus life.
In parallel, the Rice Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies’ “Quad Talk” YouTube series uses the reinvigorated quad as a symbolic and literal backdrop for candid conversations with master’s and doctoral students about the realities of life at the highest levels of learning, research and scholarship, from collaboration and mentorship to identity, perseverance and balance.
The series’ inaugural conversation features Sarah Glass, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in environmental engineering, and Kayla Vokt, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering, sharing how they met via a running group and built academic camaraderie around shared time outside the lab. “Grad school can be lonely,” Vokt says. “Running gives me a sense of purpose outside of research, and even when my experiments fail on Monday, I can still have a good run on Tuesday.” Glass reflects on resilience: “The hardest part is also the most rewarding, not knowing the answer and working until you find it.”
Daziyah Sullivan, a sixth-year Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, and Katie Garcia, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in psychological sciences, open their episode by reflecting on how relationships with coauthors and lab mates anchor them through unpredictable progress. “It’s nice to have someone who understands your schedule — and still has your back,” Garcia says. Sullivan adds, “Even when experiments are tough or deadlines feel impossible, having that encouragement from people who get it keeps you going.”
They also discuss leadership, advocacy and holistic well-being: “Your well-being isn’t just mental,” Sullivan notes. “It’s emotional, occupational, physical; it’s everything that helps you feel content in any space.”
In another installment, Viraj Ghosh, a fifth-year Ph.D. in bioengineering, and Robyn Alba, a fourth-year Ph.D. in biochemistry and cell biology, center their discussion on embracing failure, the value of rotations and leaning on peer support. “Research is tough. You fail a lot,” Ghosh says. Alba adds, “You can’t do it alone … you need that person from your cohort who says, ‘Let’s go get a coffee and talk about our failed experiments.’”
The Academic Quad’s signals Rice’s intention to reimagine how students, faculty and visitors engage, rest and collaborate on campus. The new communal tables, shaded benches and flexible gathering zones are meant to support the whole arc of campus life: study, rest and conversation.
“Quad Talk” anchors its storytelling in that shift, framing graduate life as intellectual and relational. “The pairing of graduate voices with a redesigned quad reinforces the message: thriving in graduate school depends as much on community and belonging as it does on discovery and rigor,” said Seiichi Matsuda, dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies.
New episodes of “Quad Talk” drop monthly on the Rice Graduate Studies YouTube channel, offering insight, inspiration and humanity behind the work.
🎥 Watch the series: youtube.com/@RiceGradSchool