Kalaiya Corbin '26
Kalaiya Corbin is a third year undergraduate student at Northwestern University studying Sociology, Psychology, and Russian and Eastern European Studies. She is a first generation student and Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow from Raleigh, North Carolina. Her undergraduate research interests revolve around the study of African Americans and their participation in global affairs, educational inequities and the pathologization of African Americans. Kalaiya’s research this summer will examine African Americans’ interactions with the Soviet Union and Communism in the 20th century. Her interests in educational inequities extend beyond research; Kalaiya mentored students at Gale Community Academy as a DeBerry Civic Scholar. She also sits on the Diversity and Inclusion and Engagement committees of Supplies for Dreams. Most recently, Kalaiya was awarded the Benjamin E. Gilman grant to study Russian in Kazakhstan. By engaging in cultural immersion as a Gilman Scholar, she hopes to gain a knowledge of narratives beyond US hegemony and further her Russian language skills. In the future, she plans to attend graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in Sociology with a focus on education, social inequality, and African American history. In her free time, she loves to crochet, paint, and spend time with friends.