Shirley Romero Carreon ’25: Community builder
As a Posse Scholar Shirley Romero Carreon ’25 completed a rigorous selection process to be chosen, first by the Posse Foundation and then by Cornell. Four hours after her final interview, she received a message that there was a question they forgot to ask.
The question (and answer): “What’s your favorite color? I hope it’s purple because you’re going to Cornell!”
Although she was at first hesitant about coming to Cornell and Iowa, she says she quickly realized she could not have chosen a better place.
“When I got here I found out it was a good match for me,” she says. “I cannot imagine myself anywhere else. I feel really connected to my professors. I like the relationships you can build with the staff here.”
She was expecting a culture shock coming from Dallas, Texas. And though she says it took a while to get used to strangers saying hi and talking to her, she’s now quite a fan of Mount Vernon.
“I love it here. It’s quiet and peaceful and I really love the way the sky looks at night,” she says. “I don’t have that in Dallas.”
From: Dallas, Texas
Major:Biochemistry and molecular biology
Activities: President of Gente, selected for Cornell LEADS (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, And Distinctive Service), career assistant in the Berry Career Institute, Cornell Summer Research Institute
Cornell Posse: 1
Romero Carreon also says it was difficult coming to a predominantly white institution as a person growing up around people who look like her. Her response has been to use her leadership skills—something the Posse Foundation looks for in its applicants—to build community.
“I made a space for others and now I’m president of Gente [the campus Latine group]. The fact that I was able to build a community here for other people makes me very happy,” she says.
Romero Carreon arrived on campus in the fall of 2021 as part of the college’s first Posse Scholar group. Now in her third year she’s deeply involved in campus life and leadership, and she spent a summer working with Associate Professor of Chemistry Jai Shanata ’05 in the Cornell Summer Research Institute.
Next year she’s looking forward to welcoming a special Posse scholar to campus—her sister has been selected for the college’s Posse 4.
➤ Read the full Posse series, with profiles of four Posse Scholars and a Q&A with the president
