The Rural College Student Experience
The Rural College Student Experience is the first and only podcast dedicated exclusively to centering rural college student voices in conversations about higher education access and equity. This podcast is a space for rural students to share their stories, inspire others, and challenge the misconceptions about rural college students.
Hosted by Dr. Matt Newlin (mattnewlin.com), RCSE features student guests —a currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate student from a rural background—who shares their experiences navigating college. Together, we discuss the barriers and challenges rural students face, as well as the resilience, strengths, and successes that define our journeys.
Find us on Bluesky: @rcsepod.bsky.social
The Rural College Student Experience
SPOTLIGHT: Small Town to Campus Conference
Thank you for listening to this special SPOTLIGHT episode of the Rural College Student Experience. On today’s episode, we have a very special guest, Madison Mellinger. Madison is a senior at Princeton University and is from Chambersburg, PA. She is studying in the School of Public and International Affairs with a focus on education and environmental policy, particularly as such policy relates to rural communities. In 2021, she founded Princeton's first rural student affinity group.
In this episode, we’re focusing on Small Town to Campus, a student-led conference for rural students which Madison spearheaded. The conference took place virtually in February 2023. I spoke with Madison soon after the conference about how the event became a reality and her future plans.
As always, please be sure to subscribe to the podcast and follow us on Twitter at @rcsepod. Thank you and enjoy this special SPOTLIGHT episode.