Rice graduate student Yiliu Jiang longed for a cup of hot water after flying 15 hours to reach Houston. When she walked into her apartment for the first time, she found a kettle her roommate had picked up from the Loan Closet. Soon her hot water was ready to pour.
When new postdoctoral fellows and graduate students arrive at Rice University, many of them step into an empty apartment or a campus unit with only a bed, desk, chair and a barstool or two at the kitchen counter. Helping them turn this space into a home is a service provided by the Women’s Club of Rice University, whose volunteers have coordinated a closet of household items for more than 30 years.
“When I moved into the Rice Graduate Apartments (RGA), I didn’t have any daily necessities and I didn’t even know where to buy these things or how to go to the supermarket,” Jiang said. “I was so happy to see items in the Loan Closet boxes that would help me live a normal life by only buy-
“When I moved into the Rice Graduate Apartments (RGA), I didn’t have any daily necessities and I didn’t even know where to buy these things or how to go to the supermarket. I was so happy to see items in the Loan Closet boxes that would help me live a normal life by only buying a few foods.”
— Yiliu Jiang
ing a few foods.”
While Jiang was pouring her hot water, graduate students Alexis Le Glaunec and Daniel Quintans were sitting down to a shared meal using Loan Closet pots, pans, dishes and flatware. Le Glaunec is from France and Quintans is from Cuba. The roommates are studying computer science.
“The items we got from the Loan Closet have helped my room - mate and me to cook great French and Cuban recipes,” said Le Glaunec. “I learned about the Loan Closet thanks to the Graduate Student Association newsletter. I sent an email, and the next day the Loan Closet had four boxes full of items ready for me,” Le Glaunec said. “Just amazing!”
Quen Luo, one of the first stu - dents to check out items from the Loan Closet in the fall semester, appreciated the convenience of the Loan Closet’s location in the RGA. “As a first-year international student, it can be really hard to settle in,” said Luo.
“With the Loan Closet, I borrowed most of the basic com - modities inside my own building, and on the day I moved into RGA. The full-size sheet set allowed me to have a nice sleep on the first night!”
Having the boxes immediately available upon move in helped ease graduate student Ramon Wrzosek through a busy first week. “After spending the whole week in orientations, I couldn’t be more grateful for having all these items from the Loan Closet,” he said. “I got everything I needed to prepare a tasty meal and many more. Thank you so much to everyone on the Loan Closet team for making this possible and for provid - ing such a great service to our community.”
For more information about the Loan Closet, visit: http:// gradloancloset.blogs.rice.edu/
— Carlyn Chatfield
Activity Director
Women's Club of Rice University