We had the good fortune of connecting with Christine Reyna and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christine, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think that risk is always a factor for anyone who wants to be innovative, do things outside the box, or move their industry (or society) forward. Change is hard for people and not everyone is comfortable with new ideas or perspectives. Branching out in your own direction inherently has some risks associated with it. These can be risks of failure (“what if it doesn’t work? What if I’m wrong?), risks to reputation/brand (“what if I rock the boat?” “What if I piss people off?”), and even risks to your mental or physical health (“What am I sacrificing to make this risk pay off?”).

As an academic scientist, all of these risks are in play for me and my career. When I first started out as a pre-tenured faculty member, I like many other pre-tenured professors, was under the constant pressure of “publish or perish.” I also had to get good teaching ratings, and get along with my colleagues on numerous committees. As a person of color, especially a woman of color who studies prejudice, inequality, and oppression for a living, I was constantly faced with difficult choices about how much do I take bold risks or take the safe route. I could study garden variety topics that would be easier to publish or put out big ideas that were more likely to make a mark, but also more likely to fail or rock the boat. I also had to face a lot of barriers and discrimination in my field. I found myself regularly faced with the choice: speak up or pick my battles.

I quickly realized that taking risks made me happiest. They were the big ideas that would keep me up at night with excitement, or the big problems of our times that would keep me up at night with dread. Either way, I couldn’t escape my desire to make a difference. Making a difference means doing something different. You can’t make a difference if you are doing what everyone else is doing. That doesn’t change the status quo or move the needle. It keeps things exactly the way they are. Yes, there were challenges, but I was never bored and never regretted going bold. I was able to make the mark I wanted to make.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The first thing I want people to know is that the path to your dreams, especially the big ones, is rarely ever linear. When I was in high school, I told my parents I wanted to drop out of school and become a full-time activist. I ended up graduating early. I worked in a trade while taking classes in a community college. I ended up with a degree from UCLA. I applied to PhD programs and got rejected from all of them. I took 2 years off and did research and worked as a pre-school teacher. I applied again and got into EVERY program. I thought I wanted to be a health psychologist, but came full circle and dedicated myself to the psychology of politics, polarization and oppression as a university professor. People get too discouraged when things don’t work out the first time. Things rarely work out the first time. Besides, the non-linear path has better scenery and you meet more interesting people along the way.

The second thing I want people to know is that one of the most creative things I have ever done is science. People have such a stereotype about science. They imagine men in white lab coats with beakers and numbers doing “boring” work about dry subjects. That could not be farther from the truth. Science is the wild west. It is people who want to venture forth into the unknown and discover new things that have never been discovered before. It is new ideas and creative ways to answer questions. You never know the outcome, but it is always a discovery. Only the bold need apply. There is also a stereotype that science is a “subject” like biology or chemistry. Psychology can’t be science, right? Wrong! Science is not a subject; it is a method or technique for discovering things. It can be applied to lots of different topics. I have used science to examine things like political marginalization of underrepresented groups, polarization, the rise in authoritarianism, police violence, and even far-right extremism. These are the issues that concern me. Rather than wring my hands over them, I get to use a powerful tool–science–to understand them and teach others about them. I could not imagine a more exciting career. I get to spend my days solving puzzles, but they are really consequential, important and fascinating puzzles. I get to work with smart, creative, passionate people. I love my job!

For me personally, I want my story to be about a woman who wasn’t afraid to ask the hard questions about the world around her. A saying in my research lab (siplabdepaul.com) is: “If you are comfortable, you are asking the wrong questions.” I want people to think of my work as bold and to think of me as a risk taker who is not afraid to go beyond the status quo to understand social problems at a deeper level. I strive to always factor in diverse perspectives, including cultural, racial, and national diversity. I think a lot of different disciplines have important perspectives about big social problems. I want to learn from them. I get claustrophobic in silos. I don’t know what my legacy will be because I am still on the journey, and that is exciting to me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My first shoutout goes to my mother and father who gave me the talent, curiosity, and grit to succeed. To my mother–award-winning Latina author, mentor, and teacher–she not only taught me how to write, but how to be a consummate professional, motivating leader, and moral stalwart even in the strongest storms. To my father–Latino mathematician, sports enthusiast, Renaissance man, and guardian angel (RIP)–he taught me to be forever curious about the world, to always ask “why,” and to find love in risk-taking and passion in fighting for justice.

My second shoutout ABSOLUTELY goes to all of my students, especially in my research lab. Because of them, I am a “forever student.” They are always teaching me new things, and opening my eyes wider to the world. They keep me young, make me laugh, challenge my mind, move my soul, and keep me motivated. I would absolutely not be anywhere close to where I am today without them. Everything I have ever accomplished as a scientist, scholar, teacher, and leader has been influenced by them. I am forever grateful.

Website: siplabdepaul.com

Image Credits
The non-professional was a selfie. The professional one is by DePaul University

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