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
Episode #2: Social Class Issues for Rural Students
The Rural College Student Experience is back! In Episode 2, host Dr. Matt Newlin is joined by co-host Clayton Land to discuss social class issues for rural students in college. Clayton is a senior at Yale University pursuing a double major in Global Affairs and History. Clayton is from a small town in central Kentucky called Lawrenceburg and is one of the first people from his community to attend an Ivy League institution. Being from a small town has shaped much of his involvement on campus and career aspirations which includes rural international development in Latin America.
In the second part of the episode, Clayton and Matt are joined by Dr. Sonja Ardoin, an associate professor and the Student Affairs Administration program director at Appalachian State University. Among her many research interests, Sonja studies social class identity and college access and success for rural and first-generation college students. Sonja discusses her roots as a first-generation college student from a working class background in rural Louisiana and how it informed her college student to Ph.D. journey. MORE
The Rural College Student Experience is proud to partner with Believe in Students to recognize and uplift rural student voices. Believe in Students is dedicated to ensuring that all students have their basic needs met so that they can learn and thrive. They also engage individuals in telling their stories and advocating for change, so that higher education can better serve today’s real college students.