Gratitude and Opportunity

Blaine Samson '24 made the most of her freshman year on campus, which included joining the Rice Mock Trial team and connecting with Rice President David W. Leebron. Her Rice experience, even in the pandemic year, has her looking ahead to an especially bright future.

Blaine Samson '24 was blown away by her first semester at Rice. Despite an unorthodox freshman experience, she was grateful to be able to live on campus and connect with, in her words, "the best residential college" and "the best O-week group floor-mates." Blaine was so grateful, in fact, that she emailed President Leebron with a note of thanks.

"I never thought he'd reply; I thought maybe someone else checked his email," she jokes. "He actually wrote me back and invited me to chat with him, and we had a three-hour conversation at his home. It was the coolest thing that happened my first semester."

Speaking with President Leebron led Blaine to enroll in his class, Race and Law, offered in the spring. With inspiring guest speakers and thought-provoking conversations, this class quickly became Blaine's favorite of the year.

Blaine came to Rice with a passion for studying the law. As a sophomore in high school, she joined Mock Trial, a team activity where students examine civil and criminal cases and compete in real courtrooms against their peers. There, she got a taste for critical thinking and crafting compelling arguments and joined the team at Rice as soon as she arrived on campus.

While law has been on the horizon for Blaine since high school, coming to Rice was unexpected as she always thought she would stay near her hometown in Southern California. During the college application process, though, navigating financial aid at each school was often difficult and unclear. When Blaine heard about The Rice Investment, the transparent policy allowed her to make a clear decision.

"That sense of clarity is really important to me. I wanted to pursue an education that would challenge me, but I had to keep in mind whether I would be able to afford tuition costs without taking on a lot of debt," Blaine says. "The financial aid department helped me through the entire process, even after I was accepted, and Rice was the only school to do so."

Like Anna Unterberger (cover story), Blaine is planning to pursue a career in law after graduation, lending a voice to those who cannot defend themselves. With support from The Rice Investment, she is able to take full advantage of opportunities at Rice to pursue her passions and make lasting connections.

If you would like to support talented Owls like Blaine or learn more about The Rice Investment and the gift matching program, please contact our gift planning team at [email protected].