Tessa Ehrman has joined the department as the new part-time Office Assistant following an extensive time in retail management, where she also modeled products, managed social media, and designed graphics for small businesses all over the Greater Houston area.

Outside of Rice, Tessa has directed and wrote 12+ short films and is always looking for new hobbies to explore. Her current obsessions are: watching horror movies and rewatching Twin Peaks for the 100th time, cooking new recipes, her latest being mille-feuille nabe, teaching herself digital art, and thrifting for wacky and colorful goodies.

Conner Clifton is thrilled to be joining Rice University as the Assistant Director of Student Media!

Before joining the team, Conner worked as a reporter/producer with Houston Public Media, an editor with Sentai Filmworks, co-hosted a show on KPFT and helped many local arts organizations pivot to digital programming during the initial lockdowns of 2020. He’s eager to bring his media experience to Rice to share with a new generation of students.

In his spare time, Conner likes to read and eat food that is bad for him. His favorite book is the Banjo Kazooie Nintendo Power Official Player’s Guide and his favorite TV show is the news.

Katharine Shilcutt has joined the department as Director of Student Media following a four-and-a-half-year stint working in news and media relations for Rice University.

Prior to Rice, Katharine was the managing editor of Houstonia Magazine and the James Beard-nominated food critic for the Houston Press. She also co-hosted The Full Menu on KUHF 88.7 for three years and regularly represented Houston’s dining scene on local and national television. Katharine’s work has been republished in Best American Food Writing anthologies and honored with multiple Association of Food Journalist Awards.

Katharine is a native Houstonian and seventh-generation Texan who did not graduate from Rice but loves it more than her alma mater anyway. When she’s not cooking or eating out with friends, you can find her doing laps or yoga at the Rec Center or binge-watching “Community” for the 67th time. A former travel writer and mediocre polyglot, Katharine still loves to leave the city/state/country as frequently as possible. She lives in a little old house with her husband and two dogs, who feature heavily on her Instagram account.