Library Ambassadors
Fill out the Fondren Library Student Ambassador application to apply for the 2023-24 academic year.
Zeisha Bennett
Major: Photography and Business
College: Baker '25
Bio: Hi, my name is Zeisha! I’m from Tempe, Arizona. I love all things Fashion, Formula One racing, and Music. My favorite composer is Sergei Prokofiev and I have a twin, which is pretty dope! You can definitely find me around campus taking photos or rummaging through the photography book stacks on the 3rd floor of Fondy.
Favorite Book: Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane. The red herrings and suspense elements are immaculate.
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish everyone knew of all the various resources the library has like the free visual art workshops frequently held in the Basement and Digital Media Commons.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year as a library Ambassador.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to changing the Rice community’s experience at Fondren as well as promoting all the really cool resources it offers.
Amber Hu
Major: Statistics
College: Martel '25
Bio: Hi! I was born in China and used to live in Australia. I love coffee, dancing, and movies!
Favorite Book: I love the genres of Sci-Fi and Fantasy.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to working with the team and contributing to improving student experience at Fondren.
Shreyas Minocha
Major: Computer Science
College: Will Rice '24
Bio: Hi! I'm from Hyderabad, India and I'm majoring in Computer Science. In addition to CS, I like math, biographies, and dystopian fiction.
Favorite Book: Factfulness by Hans Rosling
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish more people knew about Interlibrary Loan! Should you ever need a particular book that isn't in Fondren's collection you can file a request to borrow it from another library.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? It's my second year as an Ambassador!
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to learning more about the library's resources and to helping the library in making them more accessible to the Will Rice and broader Rice communities.
Aditya Pradhan
Major: Bioengineering
College: Baker '25
Bio: Hi! I'm Aditya, your Fondren Ambassador. I am a freshman from Baker majoring in Bioengineering and I love food, meeting new people, and ping pong:)
Favorite Book: Archipelago by Monique Roffey
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish everyone knew that Fondren has everything from power banks and charging cords to umbrellas and even whiteboard markers.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to working with all the other ambassadors to help my peers better access Fondren's resources and excel in their classes.
Reagan Reynolds
Major: English and Psychology
College: Baker '25
Bio: Nice to meet you!! My name is Reagan Reynolds, and I am a current freshman in Baker college from a small town outside Austin, TX. I love to write, ride my bike, and pick up new hobbies and interests every so often. My latest attempt at a longboarding phase wasn't very successful, so I'd appreciate any suggestions for other things I should do to occupy my mind!
Favorite Book: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish more people knew how to navigate the databases and almost endless scholastic articles and resources Fondren provides! Definitely something to take advantage of; I've used it frequently myself for academic research and several papers.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I'm extremely excited to be an ambassador this semester, and I look forward to increasing campus knowledge about Fondren and student connection to it because our library has so much to offer!
Ashley Wang
Major: English (Creative Writing) and Psychology
College: Duncan '25
Bio: Hi everyone! I'm Ashley and I'm from Short Hills, New Jersey. My favorite instrument is the piano, and my favorite composer is Maurice Ravel. In my free time, I enjoy reading and writing poetry and listening to calming music.
Favorite Book: Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish more people knew about the free workshops that the DMC offers! You can learn about anything from Garageband to photography.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my first year as a Fondren ambassador.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to getting to know my fellow ambassadors and library staff, as well as receiving valuable student input about the library.
Thank you to our previous Ambassadors for your hard work and dedication!
Raiya Myren
Major: Mechanical Engineering
College: Jones '23
Bio: I was born and raised in Austin, Texas, with my two brothers and parents. I am planning on majoring in mechanical engineering, but I also love art history, classics, and studio art.
Favorite Book: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish everyone knew about the courses and events put on by the different departments throughout the week.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my third year working for the library. I have worked at the Kelley Center at the Government Information desk, and for the UX Office as well.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I hope to spread awareness about all the resources available at Fondren so that my fellow Jonesians have more confidence navigating the library, both in-person and online. I also look forward to sharing student feedback with the library staff so that we can make the library more accessible.
Sini Koviu
Major: Kinesiology - Sports Medicine and Physiology
College: Hanszen '23
Bio: Hi everyone! I’m Sini and I’m an international student from Finland. I swim for the Women’s Swim Team and spend most of my free-time exploring new restaurants in Houston or spending quality time with my friends. Restaurant recommendations are always welcome!
Favorite Book: This summer my friend recommended Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo to me and I absolutely loved it!
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish people knew about all the awesome stuff Fondren will be offering this academic year! (We’ll make sure you do (; )
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year as a library Ambassador.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to working with the amazing people in our team and to be able to inform more students about all the opportunities Fondren has to offer.
Sophia DeLeon-Wilson
Major: Cognitive Science and VADA(studio art)
College: Baker '23
Bio: Hello! I'm Sophia and I was born and raised in Austin, Texas. I enjoy cooking, listening to music, and watching insanely long video essays on youtube.
Favorite Book: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is a collection of sci-fi short stories, one of which inspired the movie Arrival.
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish more people knew about the Digital Media Commons and the resources they provide such as workshops and equipment.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year as an Ambassador.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to working with the Fondren librarians, especially those who work in UX and web design, and learning about opportunities Fondren that I and my fellow Bakerites can take advantage of.
Melissa Carmona
Major: History and Sociology
College: Lovett '22
Bio: Hello! I'm from a small town called The Colony, TX. I love taking walks and doodling to clear my mind. I'm super excited to be a Library Ambassador!
Favorite Book: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish people knew about the vast amounts of resources that Fondren provides for students, from classes to umbrellas!
How many years have you been an Ambassador? It's currently my second year!
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I'm looking forward to working with fellow library ambassadors and staff to make Fondren a better resource for students.
Shannon Jelley
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
College: Brown '22
Bio: Hi! I am from Cincinnati, Ohio, and am a member of the Women's Varsity Swim Team here at Rice. I love coffee, hiking, and trying new restaurants.
Favorite Book: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I wish that people were aware of just how many resources Fondren has available.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my first year.
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I look forward to learning even more about Fondren and getting to communicate that knowledge to others in my college.
Emma Saving
Major: Biosciences/Genetics major and medhum minor
College: Sid Richardson '22
Bio: Hi, I’m Emma! I’m a Biosciences/genetics major and medhum minor from Dallas who really enjoys deep talks, coffee, dancing, and meeting new people. You can usually find me at Sid, coffeehouse, XA, dance practice, or studying at Fondren!
Favorite Book: Inkheart, by Cornelia Funke
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? I want everyone to be aware of all the extra opportunities Fondren has to offer including study resources, helpful workshops, writing assistance, study breaks, and events including voter registration!
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my first year as an Ambassador!
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I am excited to get to learn and share more about what the library has to offer students, and to serve as a liaison between Sid and Fondy!
Jennifer Wang
Major: Mathematical Economic Analysis
College: Duncan '22
Favorite Book: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
What do you wish everyone knew about Fondren Library? There are a lot of useful courses offered at Fondren, like classes teaching you how to use data analysis programs.
How many years have you been an Ambassador? This is my second year!
What do you look forward to as an Ambassador? I’m excited to work with my fellow Ambassadors and library staff to improve people’s experience at Fondren as much as possible.