An introduction to life-changing work

Holly Link

Holly Link

Educational Linguistics Ph.D., 2016

Before Penn GSE: A bilingual elementary school teacher in dual language programs

After Penn GSE: Director of Educational Programming and Research, Center for Culture, Art, Training and Education (CCATE), Norristown, PA

"I got to work with inspiring scholars doing cutting-edge work. I saw firsthand the process of writing, submitting, and publishing a journal article. I had so many experiences that shaped me as a scholar and that I continue to draw on in my research and academic writing."

The elementary classrooms in which Penn GSE placed me for research in my first semester shaped my research interests and introduced me to the community I work in today.

My goal at the Center for Culture, Art, Training and Education (CCATE) is to affect social change for Norristown’s Latinx immigrant community through our new Participatory Research Center. The focus of our collaborative, ethnographic, community-based research is to inform educational and social policy, empower our community, and increase access to resources locally, and potentially on a larger scale.

My Ph.D. study was a fabulous experience. Working with Dr. Nancy Hornberger at Penn’s Ethnography Forum and the Journal of Anthropology in Education Quarterly put me at the forefront of amazing research. I got to work with inspiring scholars doing cutting-edge work. I saw firsthand the process of writing, submitting, and publishing a journal article. I had so many experiences that shaped me as a scholar and that I continue to draw on in my research and academic writing.

Penn GSE gives its students access to resources and the opportunity to work with other centers and faculty members across campus and the city, drawing on the Penn connection. CCATE benefits from my connections as a graduate – to Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, the Greenfield Intercultural Center, and the Latino Studies Program. The result is partnerships allowing our community members greater access to the highest levels of education and life-changing experiences.