This is one in a series of stories about alumni of the Nexus Scholars Program.
Carlin Reyen ’25
English
Cohort: Summer 2023
As a then-rising junior, Carlin Reyen ‘25 knew that she was interested in civil rights law and sociology. Through her work in the Nexus Scholars Program with Professor Vida Maralani in the sociology department, she was able to explore that. Her project examined discrimination at four-year universities through complaints that were submitted to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, allowing her to investigate issues related to civil rights, education, and public policy.
For Reyen, the Nexus Scholars Program provided her first experience conducting university-level research. Though learning the subject matter itself was important, she also had to adjust to the independence that her research required of her. “I had to make my own work schedule to meet deadlines, which was easier said than done,” she recalled.
Throughout the summer, Reyen balanced learning new material while completing research tasks alongside a fellow Nexus Scholar before their weekly meetings. She also learned how to navigate communication with her faculty mentor, including how to ask effective questions and how to seek guidance when challenges arose. Following the end of the program, Reyen continued working with Prof. Maralani until graduation, building upon the work that she had done in the Nexus Scholars Program
Today, Reyen works as a staff assistant and legislative correspondent for a member of Congress in Washington D.C., conducting policy research and helping communicate complex issues and constituent concerns on the member’s behalf. Although her current work differs from her Nexus project, she sees clear connections between the two experiences.
“[Nexus] gave me the understanding of how to look into systemic problems, how to write about them, and how to think about them more clearly than I had before,” she remarked. While she is considering graduate study in the future, Reyen is currently focused on learning as much as she can through her work in the government, expanding her knowledge and perspective along the way.
As advice for current Nexus Scholars, Reyen encourages students to foster relationships with the people around them. She recommends branching out and learning about fellow scholars’ projects, building relationships across disciplines, and staying connected with mentors and fellow scholars once the program ends. “The professors that participate in the program really care about their students,” she said. “[They’re] someone who’s a big advocate for you, especially given the size of [Cornell], and how it can be difficult to make connections with a professor on a personal level.”
