Getting the Job Done: Going the Distance

“Every time my husband and I visit Houston, we ask, ‘Should we come back here? Should we retire here so we can go to events?’” Most people may not create their retirement plans around Rice alumni events, but would you expect anything less from the president of the Association of Rice Alumni?

Then again, maybe it’s fate that keeps bringing Vicki Bretthauer ’79 and her husband Neil back to Rice. When she was a high school senior in Illinois, Vicki planned to study engineering at Purdue University. “Then my English teacher caught me in the hall and asked, ‘What if you don’t stay in engineering? What are you going to do? Haven’t you looked anyplace else?’ I said, ‘Well . . . MIT,’ and he shook his head.” But Vicki had also heard about “this little school in Texas called Rice,” and both her teacher and guidance counselor encouraged her to visit. “I left Chicago in a snow storm and arrived in Houston in 82-degree weather,” Vicki says. “I jumped in a cab, and when we got to campus, the driver chose an entrance because I didn’t know where to go. I got out of the cab, and someone asked, ‘Are you Vicki?’” That voice belonged to Don Macune ’78 who was waiting to take her to the residential college where she would be living. “Now, what are the odds of that happening? The things that work out are amazing!”

Although engineering did not remain Vicki’s focus for long—she switched to managerial studies after two years—the Rice college system did. “My college was like a family. It was absolutely wonderful. At Rice, I found out about other parts of life, and that’s what’s most important.”

So maybe it’s Vicki’s extended family that keeps bringing her back. Whether in California, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, or Illinois—where Vicki and Neil currently make their home—she enjoys volunteering and staying connected to her alma mater. “I do a lot for alumni and admissions because I want to be sure that students who will be a good fit at Rice get into Rice,” Vicki says. “I want them to have the type of experience I had. I’ve also been very active in Chicago where many alumni come for graduate school. You want people to stay involved with Rice, and it’s difficult for them when they’re in grad school. You want to be sure that you plan events that are affordable, enjoyable, and even educational. It’s really fun to get parents of current students to attend our events. When they hear how enthusiastically we talk about the university, they feel so much better.”

Vicki and other regionally based volunteers work to ensure that there’s a wide range of activities planned to keep alumni involved, despite the distance from Rice. She even organized an event to rally Chicago-area Rice, University of Texas, and Texas A&M alumni. “We actually had more alums come than either of the other two schools!” Then there are those special individuals who make events worthwhile. “Rachel Stevenson from the class of 1928 used to come,” Vicki says. “She was working well into her late 80s. You don’t often get to meet people like that. She was an inspiration to the whole Chicago group.”

Vicki’s ability to take Rice with her wherever she goes means that she can retire wherever she likes. No matter where she is, however, she remains one of Rice’s most active and loyal alums and volunteers.

—Adrienne Mattea