Urban Immersion introduces incoming Rice students to more than just service work in the city
2,261 views · Published 30 July 2018 · 2:32 · Indexed 21 September 2026
Channel: Rice University · 2018 · Education
This summer, 47 incoming Rice freshmen and one transfer student were introduced to Houston in one of the most immersive ways possible. During the Center for Civic Leadership’s (CCL) annual weeklong Urban Immersion program, they visited the East End and the Third Ward, Chinatown and Pasadena; they took Metro buses throughout the city to reach each daily destination and slept in downtown’s Christ Church Cathedral each night. Each day was designed to tackle a different social justice issue while taking the students on a tour of their new city: Tuesday’s topic was gentrification and community development during a volunteer shift with the Southeast Houston Transformation Alliance and a tour of Project Row Houses; Wednesday’s visit to Finca Tres Robles and a “toxic tour” of the Second Ward provided by Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (TEJAS) illuminated issues of environmental justice.
