Contact: 713-348-5781┃ nvdh@rice.edu
Nicole Van Den Heuvel, a Rice alumna, is the Director for the Center for Career Development and brings over twenty years of industry experience. Prior to assuming the current Director role, she worked at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business as Associate Director of Career Management, counseling and advising MBA students on career planning and development. She has an extensive business background in public, private and not-for-profit organizations having worked for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies for more than 14 years in Houston, Washington, D.C. and Montreal, Canada. She also brings across-the-board expertise in career counseling, leadership training, recruiting, and human resources. Van Den Heuvel also brings an international perspective to CCD as she speaks French, Spanish, and German and has lived throughout Europe. She continues to actively contribute to the Houston and Rice alumni community through her community service and fundraising activities.
Contact: ifm2@rice.edu
Ivette Mekdessi develops and implements instructional programming related to post-graduate planning. She provides individual counseling and assessment interpretation to assist Rice students and alumni in making informed career decisions and to prepare them for professional advancement. Mekdessi joined Rice in 2015 from the University Career Services at the University of Houston, where she was a career counselor intern. At University Career Services, she provided career exploration, professional correspondence reviews, interview preparation, and assessment overviews and interpretations to undergraduate and graduate students as well as alumni. She also served as a research assistant in varying fields of psychology including job satisfaction, employee well-being, stress overflow, and gender roles and differences. Mekdessi holds a bachelor's of science in Psychology, a bachelor’s of business administration in Marketing and a master’s of education in Counseling from the University of Houston. Mekdessi also brings an international perspective to the CCD as she speaks French, Spanish, and Arabic and attended international schools her entire life.
Contact: ajt7@rice.edu
Andrew Tessmer provides individual counseling and assessment interpretations to assist Rice undergraduate students, graduate students, and alumni in making informed career decisions and to prepare them for professional advancement. He develops and implements instructional programming related to career exploration, career preparation, and professional life management. He also manages the Career Counseling practicum & internship programs for graduate counseling students. He also coordinates special sessions to meet the needs of graduate and post-doctoral students. He joined Rice in 2015 from University Career Services at the University of Houston, where he completed his graduate internship and served as a Career Counselor and Pre-Law Advisor. Tessmer has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Houston. He is currently serving on the Executive Board for the Houston Area Consortium of Career Centers (HACCC). He is also an active member of the Texas Counseling Association (TCA), with divisional memberships in the Texas Career Development Association (TCDA) and the Texas Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling (TALGBTIC).
Contact: lgs7@rice.edu
Leora Gabry Semble advises Rice students in all stages of the internship/job search process and develops instructional programming related to post-graduate planning. Previously, she managed on-campus recruiting and relationships with Rice recruiters to provide mutually beneficial career support for Rice students and employers. Leora joined the CCD from the MBA Career Management Office at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where she coordinated and implemented career-related programming for students, alumni, and employers. Prior to that, she served as a staff attorney and volunteer coordinator at Whitman-Walker Health, a community health center located in Washington, D.C. Leora also spent several years working as an economic consultant before attending graduate school. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Columbia University.
Contact: maw@rice.edu
Marilyn Wade specializes in counseling & coaching college students to explore career options, make good career decisions and successfully navigate the internship/job search process. Marilyn joined Rice in 2017; in addition to individual counseling, she currently manages the Peer Career Advisor (PCA) Program and teaches the UNIV 212 Career & Life Options course. She has 10+ years of experience in career development/higher education and has worked in similar roles at the University of Houston (TX) and Saint Joseph's University (PA). Marilyn holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Tulane University and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Roosevelt University.
Contact: aa130@rice.edu
Anusha Atmakuri implements individual career counseling and assessment interpretations to assist Rice undergraduates and graduate students in their career development process, under the supervision of Andrew Tessmer. She is currently in the process of obtaining her M.Ed Counseling degree at the University of Houston. Atmakuri aspires to be a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in career counseling, couples counseling and play therapy.
Contact: 713-348-4143 | amg@rice.edu
Ann McAdam Griffin develops and maintains relationships with Rice recruiters, alumni, parents, and friends of Rice to create opportunities for Rice students through internships and full-time positions, externships, and mentoring opportunities. She also manages recruiting programs, including assessing the effectiveness of all aspects of the on-campus recruiting process and is a Certified Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i) Coach. Ann joined the Center for Career Development in 2015. Prior to that, she served as an Academic Advisor and Associate Director of Corporate Relations, both at Rice. She has a broad business background, having spent many years as a Management Consultant and Lecturer at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Psychology from Tufts University and an MBA degree with a Finance concentration from Boston University. Ann and her family were the Hanszen College Magisters from 2009-2014.
Contact: 713-348-3776 | mip2@rice.edu
After working as a Campus Recruiter for Academy Sports+Outdoors Corporate Office, Passo is thrilled to be back in the CCD working on Owl Edge initiatives including its externship and internship programs. Passo initially joined Rice in 2008 from the University of Iowa, where she was a graduate teaching assistant for the Department of Communication Studies. Previously, she worked as adjunct faculty at El Centro Community College in Dallas, Texas. Passo brings several years of professional experience to Rice. Through the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, she served as a programming intern at USA Network. Prior to that role, Passo spent over four years with the National Basketball Association (NBA) - working in the Commissioner's Office and then for NBA TV. She holds a master's degree in Cinema-Television from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications from Indiana University.
Contact: 713-348-4008 | kh39@rice.edu
Katelyn Holm develops and implements CCD marketing plans, creates CCD collateral, manages CCD marketing interns, and plans and executes all CCD events. Holm joined Rice in 2016 and brings a variety of communication skills from her experience in nonprofit marketing and event planning. Previously, she worked at Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse in Downtown Houston, where she created visual marketing, coordinated communication strategies with government entities, and assisted in grant management to benefit victims of family violence in gaining civil legal aid. She also worked in foster care with Arrow Foundation as Communications Associate and spent three years in newspaper publication as Editor-in-Chief at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Contact: 713-348-3916 | ems18@rice.edu
Elsa Schieffelin coordinates and supports all on campus recruiting activities at the Center for Career Development, working closely with recruiters, alumni, and students alike. Elsa joined the CCD as the Recruiting Coordinator in 2017, where she managed and maintained the Handshake online database, and provided office support by answering the CCD's main phone line, the CCD email, greeted visitors. Before joining the CCD team, she worked as the graduate assistant at the University of Virginia Library, where she aided various faculty members and students in their research, coordinated communication between library patrons and staff, and managed the reserve collection. Elsa holds a Bachelor's degree in Russian and Eastern European studies as well as a Master's in Russian language and literature from the University of Virginia.
Contact: 713-348-4055 | hs51@rice.edu
Helen Seilkop recently graduated from University of Houston with a Bachelor’s degree in English. During her time at University of Houston, she worked as a Writing Consultant and assisted UH student’s in improving their writing, research, and reading skills. She joined the the CCD as their recruitment coordinator in 2019. Helen assists the CCD in their On-Campus Recruiting efforts by managing the Handshake database and assisting in answering phone calls, responding to emails, and working with the Rice population to help further their professional development.
Contact: 713-348-4029┃ chebert@rice.edu
Christine Hebert manages the administrative and office operations and oversees financial processes for the Center for Career Development. She also coordinates the student employee program. Hebert joined Rice in 1997 from the University of Houston. There, she held roles as an Office Manager in the International Student and Scholars Services Office and as a Business Administrator for the Computer Science Department. She served in a similar capacity for the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. Hebert holds a bachelor's degree from the University of the Philippines, Quezon City.