Hello Class of 2025!
Welcome to Rice! On behalf of the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership (RCEL), I am so excited for you to make your mark on the Rice Community and experience everything this university has to offer.
My name is Jade McAdams and I am a senior mechanical engineering major and the RCEL Student Director for the 2021-2022 school year. In my role as Student Director, I work to create and execute the vision for our student-led initiatives while fostering a sense of community among fellow RCEL students.
I entered the RCEL program my first semester freshman year and since then I have had incredible learning experiences both in and out of the classroom that have helped me to grow as a leader. The skills I’ve learned with RCEL have allowed me to lead engineering project teams, take on roles such as Treasurer, Social, and Beer Bike Coordinator for my college, and act as a TA for RCEL 100, 200, and 300. I’m incredibly excited for each of you to start your own leadership journey here at Rice, and I hope that each of you find RCEL to be as beneficial as I have.
Throughout the last three years, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of what makes RCEL valuable, so I’d like to share a few of my takeaways.
- RCEL is more than just a set of classes. Although the classes are essential for completing the certificate and developing leadership skills, RCEL also offers opportunities outside of the classroom. Incredible faculty, engineering students, industry professionals, and alumni enhance the RCEL experience and are always willing to give advice or mentorship. The Student Leadership team (made up of the Events, Industry, and Leadership Support Teams) is a group of RCEL students who want to practice their leadership skills, host events, and provide opportunities for students to connect with industry professionals. Some of my personal favorite initiatives are “Let’s Do Lunch” networking events, Splashdown (building a functional boat out of cardboard!), and the Women in STEM Panel!
- RCEL allows you to make mistakes. Being a leader is not about being perfect from the day you step foot on Rice campus. It requires learning and growing from your mistakes, and RCEL provides the opportunity to do so. The leadership labs and role-play scenarios in the classroom allow you to take risks with creative problem solving, practice project management, and see what skills work for you. Thus, when you are faced with being a leader outside the classroom – whether in other clubs on campus, college leadership roles, or the workplace – you have all the tools necessary to succeed.
- RCEL helps you develop your self-awareness. Being a strong leader requires understanding your own strengths, weaknesses, and goals. From the very first course onwards, RCEL teaches you to analyze your personal attributes and how to use that knowledge to become the best engineering leader you can be. Preconceptions about what type of characteristics might be necessary to be a leader are set aside as RCEL helps you develop your leadership style while staying true to yourself.
- RCEL skills are applicable in any environment. Graduating from Rice with an engineering degree is an impressive accomplishment that will open many doors, but being able to thrive in whatever environment you end up in after graduation requires the soft skills that RCEL helps you develop. Delegation, interpersonal communication, setting goals, creating and executing a vision, and the other skills you learn with RCEL are useful no matter where you end up. Whether you go into law, entrepreneurship, medicine, industry, or something else entirely, having these skills will help you lead high performing teams and progress in the workplace.
RCEL’s Certificate in Engineering Leadership Program develops engineers into leaders by teaching a set of leadership competencies, such as empowering & delegating, motivating others, project management, effective communication, building power & influence, and more. The Certificate is only 11 credit hours (7 courses), so it is accessible to all engineering students and can supplement any major or minor combination. Each course has a combination of hands-on labs and lectures, which allows you to implement the leadership skills from the lecture in an engaging environment where it is okay to make mistakes. Through personalized coaching and journaling exercises that supplement class material, you are able to challenge yourself and reflect on your leadership development.
Once again, welcome to Rice! If you have any questions or want to learn more about the program, please feel free to reach out to me (jam26@rice.edu) or any of the other student leaders listed on the RCEL website. We would all be happy to share our unique experiences with RCEL, give advice, or just listen. Now go out and have an amazing freshman year!
Jade McAdams is a senior mechanical engineering major from Plano, TX and a proud member of Hanszen College. Throughout her time at Rice, she has been involved in almost every aspect of RCEL, from coaching various Certificate courses to working for the Rice Emerging Leaders in Technology and Engineering Camp after her freshman year, and she is now happy to be taking on the role of Student Director. She is also highly involved in her residential college, as a current Social, and a past Treasurer and Beer Bike Coordinator. She also loves Rice’s intramural sports- you can often find her at the Rec playing basketball or floor hockey with friends, or on the IM fields acting as captain for Hanszen’s Powderpuff team!