08/23/2018 02:55:04 PMUH and “The Voice” Alum Stephanie Rice Delivered a Lesson in PersistenceStephanie Rice didn’t think she’d go to college. Not because she wasn’t smart enough – she made straight A’s in high school – but because of her secrets.

Her dad, a Baptist pastor in a small Texas town, had taught her that women should be subordinate to men, that evolution wasn’t real and that being gay was bad, she said.

Rice, on the other hand, believed in gender equality, wanted to major in biology and knew she was gay.

“You can imagine the fear I felt at the thought of those secrets getting out, especially that last one,” Rice told a crowd of more than 670 at the University of Houston College of Education’s First Lecture on Friday.

The annual event, established by Dean Bob McPherson, is designed to give students, faculty, staff and community members a memorable and motivational start to the academic year.

McPherson, who heard Rice speak at a UH LGBTQ dinner in May, said he knew he wanted her to share her story with the College’s students – aspiring teachers, school leaders, health advocates, counselors, psychologists and researchers.