The Rural College Student Experience

We're back with a new, exciting episode talking about a critical topic in rural education: college access and retention. The intention of this podcast is elevating and amplifying rural student voices in conversations about higher education. Students from rural high schools are significantly less likely to enroll in postsecondary education compared to their non-rural peers. Roughly 30 percent of students enrolled in college come from rural or small town communities, and yet their needs are rarely taken into consideration in decision- and policy-making discussions.

In this episode, host Dr. Matt Newlin is joined by co-host Giulia Episcopo, a sophomore at Purdue University who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. After college, Giulia is interested in using chemical engineering concepts to leave a positive, lasting impact on the lives of those in local and global communities.

Our guest is Dr. Lori Pence, the Associate Director of Student Success at Purdue University’s College of Engineering. Dr. Pence was raised in a small rural community in Northwest Indiana and is, first and foremost, a champion for rural and first-generation students. She completed both her master’s and PhD at Purdue University. Her doctoral research focused on rural student success, which we discuss during this episode. Dr. Pence is an advocate of college access and success because postsecondary education is a formidable lever in allowing students the ability to overcome their circumstances and achieve their dreams.

Please be sure to follow us on Twitter (@rcsepod). You can also follow Dr. Newlin at @DrMattNewlin. Thank you for listening and be sure to subscribe to the Rural College Student Experience wherever you get your podcasts.