Diane Moturi, she/her

  Freshman, Brown
  Creative, Caring, Fun

  Major: Neuroscience
  Minor: German

Hi! My name is Diane Moturi. My pronouns are she/her and I am a freshman from Brown. I am
majoring in Neuroscience and will possibly minor in German. Some of the words my closest
friends would use to describe me are creative, caring, and fun. I became a FLI ambassador
because I really wanted to contribute to and support FLI students in any way I can! My favorite
part of this position is all the amazing people that I’ve met and worked with since I started! Being
a FLI student means that I am ready to use this opportunity to achieve my goals and find my
space in the world.

I am still a freshman but some things that I found hard to deal with at first was being away from
my family and time management. Overcoming them was not the easiest thing to do but there
are so many people and resources here at Rice that made it it easier for me to get help with
both my homesickness and creating a time plan that worked for me. I find myself falling into old
habits from time to time but I always try to stick to it.

I have spent a lot of time this year exploring the various different organizations here at Rice. I
am a part of the Student Health Services Committee, The Rice Urban Agriculture Club and my
residential college’s Merch Committee. Being a part of these committees are especially fun
because I’ve been able to develop a support system of friends that I really appreciate and cater
to my creative interests.

My favorite class would definitely have to be CAAM 210, Introduction to Engineering
Computation. It is by no means my easiest class but I did not think I would enjoy coding as
much as I do right now! It is interesting to me because it is so different from the classes I have
taken in the past and it challenges me in ways I have not been challenged before. I also
appreciate the professor and TAs who are really helpful and great at explaining how we should
approach the concepts we cover in class.

When I am not in class or doing doing class related things, I spend time reading, writing and
drawing. I am not very good at drawing or writing but they are things that bring me a lot of peace
which is an important part of how I decompress from the various classes and assignments we
have as Rice students.

One of the most important things to remember as a student is that you are not alone. College is
tough but reaching out to all the resources available and the people willing to help makes it a
little less tough so reach out often as you can!