Co-Presidentas
Melissa Cantu and Valeria Aguirre
(mcantu@rice.edu) (va27@rice.edu)
¡Hola familia! Olá família! We are Melissa Cantú (Martel, bioengineering ’24) and Valeria Aguirre (Will Rice, architecture ’24/’26), aka Valissa, and we’re your HACER Presidentas! We are from Mission, TX and Joliet, IL, and are both of Mexican heritage. We have been involved in HACER starting our freshman year as members, sophomore year as culturals committee members, and then junior year as VP and secretary. We both love to travel (first traveling trip together in May 2023), and in our free time, we both really enjoy dancing (we are each other’s favorite dance partners haha) and listening to music. We look forward to planning an exciting year packed with fun events with our committees and officers! We hope you join the club and get to learn more about Latin American heritage. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with your questions/memes/suggestions. ¡Si se puede!
Vice-Presidenta
Pamela Duarte
(prd2@rice.edu)
¡Hola HACER familia! My name is Pamela Duarte and I am honored to be HACER’s Vice-Presidenta this year:) I was born and raised in a border town named Douglas, Arizona and my family is from Sonora, Mexico. I am a junior from Will Rice College majoring in Biosciences (Cell Biology & Genetics) and minoring in Medical Humanities. In my free time I like to walk around campus listening to music, conduct developmental biology research at the Uribe lab, or visit local coffee shops/restaurants around Houston with my friends! As Vice-Presidenta, I am excited to serve as a connection between members and the E-board to make HACER inclusive and have events that the members want! Please feel free to reach out to me for questions, suggestions, or assistance <3
Secretaria
Karen Martinez Perez
(kmm10@rice.edu)
¡Holis! My name is Karen Martinez Perez, and I’m very excited to be your secretaria! I’m from Plantersville, TX (about an hour out of Houston) y soy mexicana (born in Veracruz, mom from Coahuila, dad from Jalisco). I am a senior from McMurtry majoring in Cognitive Sciences, minoring in Business, with certificates in Mandarin Chinese and Civic Leadership. If I’m not doing tour guide stuff, I’m probably running, grabbing boba, or driving around listening to music (Omar Apollo <3). Through my role, I look forward to keeping you in the know of what’s going on in HACER, at Rice, and in Houston! I’ll be sending out the list-serv and managing the Instagram (@ricehacer) among other things. If there’s something you want to share with HACER, have any questions, or want to go eat somewhere off-campus together, feel free to reach out!
Tesorera
Tania Reyes
(tr21@rice.edu)
¡Hola familia! My name is Tania Reyes and I will be your HACER tesorera this school year. I was raised in South Texas, but Monterrey, N.L. is my second home. I am currently a senior from Martel majoring in BioSciences on the pre-optometry track. On my free time, I love to cook in the Martel kitchen, listen to music, drink coffee at Chaus, hang out with my friends, and dance to my favorite Latin jams. As the treasurer, I am responsible for the club’s funds and oversee all purchases for the general body meetings and events. I am most excited to be able to facilitate the process of making events for the Latinx and Hispanic community at Rice as I love to see my people come together.
Community Outreach Chair
Camille Neal-Harris
(ccn5@rice.edu)
Saludos!! My name is Camille Neal-Harris, and I am excited to be your Community Outreach Chair for this school year. I am a junior at Will Rice, but my hometown is New York City. My family is from Vega Baja, Puerto Rico! I am a dual degree student in Bioengineering and VADA (Studio Art) specializing in sculpture. I am on the MD/PhD track if you are interested in that process! If I’m not in class, designing or researching, I’m likely getting my night-time Cup Of Ambition, skateboarding down Cambridge, or dancing on the tables at 2-3 am to end the night. Over the next year, I am excited to push out a few initiatives to help HACER expand beyond Rice’s campus and beyond Houston. I look forward to hearing your ideas on how to make resources to education, health, housing, and more accessible to members of the Latine community. Service is a collaborative effort. So please, if you have any questions or suggestions definitely reach out!
Cultural Events Chair
Camila DeAlba
(cnd4@rice.edu)
Helloo I’m Camila DeAlba and I am this year’s Cultural Events Chair! I am from Houston, Texas (wooo H-town) and my family is from Monterrey. I am a junior at Jones (JIBA) majoring in Biosciences. Around Rice, you’ll most likely catch me at a sporting event or “studying” with friends (if studying means talking and not doing work). I also enjoy running, playing tennis, and watching movies. I am super excited for our big cultural showcase, ¡RITMO! I really hope to get all of the Latine community at Rice involved in making this year’s ¡RITMO! one of the best ones yet. If you want to get involved with the CEC or have any ideas on ways to improve ¡RITMO! please feel free to reach out to me. I can’t wait to hang out with y’all!
Socials Committee Co-Chairs
Zoë Rose Chavez and Valeria Carrillo
(zrc1@rice.edu)(vc33@rice.edu)
Hi! My name is Zoë Chavez, a junior from Will Rice! I am majoring in Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology with a minor in Biochemistry. I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and come from a Mexican heritage! I love listening to music, cooking/baking, and going out with friends and family! My name is Valeria Carrillo and I’m a sophomore from Duncan. I love playing soccer, hanging out with friends, and messing around at the RMC when I’m not studying! We cannot wait to start working with HACER and the rest of the student body to celebrate and learn about our culture together! Please feel free to reach out with any questions over Socials Committee or HACER! 🙂