I am a PhD Candidate and scholar of immigrant literacies and transnational education. I aim to collaboratively elevate the experiential knowledge and liberatory learning practices of immigrant and transnational students of color and communities across home, school, and community spaces through critical and community-based research methodologies. More specifically, my research explores the intersections of the literacies, languages, and identities of Black African immigrant and transnational students in community youth programs. My work seeks to inform culturally sustaining pedagogies and humanizing teaching practices that affirm the identities, languages and literacies, and lived experiences of Black immigrant and transnational students and communities.
Prior to starting the PhD, I worked as a research consultant for the health management consulting firm, Optum Serve Consulting (OSC), where I engaged in report writing, research and analysis, technical assistance (TA), and community outreach efforts on behalf of federal, state, and local clients. I began my consulting journey after graduating from Grinnell College with a BA in French and Political Science.
When I am not studying, I like to tend to my house plants, visit museums, take long walks and hikes, practice hot yoga, play Sudoku, and attend/host game nights.
I am always happy to meet new people and dialogue about research interests/ideas, career pathways and experiences, or any other opportunities so please don't hesitate to reach out! (enkooyoo@umd.edu)
- Education Pioneers Summer Fellowship - Project Management Fellow, Rocketship Public Schools DC (Summer 2023)
- Language Science Fellows Program - Language Science Fellow, ÉòоÓïÀÏʦ¼Ò·ÃÂ黨ÊÓÆµ College Park (2021- Present)
- Graduate School Exploration Fellowship (GSEF)/Summer Education Research Program (SERP) GSEF Fellow, University of Wisconsin - Madison (Summer 2016)
Scholarships:
- Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (June 2016)
Conference Awards/Grants:
- TALLER 2024 Student Award for Community Inclusion & Impact in Educational Research (Spring 2024)
Conference Presentations:
- American Education Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting 2025 • Denver, CO, USA • April 26, 2024
- Roundtable: Breaking the Silence: Centering a Black Teacher’s Experiences in a Dual Language Bilingual
Education Program
- Roundtable: Breaking the Silence: Centering a Black Teacher’s Experiences in a Dual Language Bilingual
- Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) 2025 • Baltimore, MD, USA • April 12, 2025
- Panel: Y’all Can’t Ban It, Languaging Like a Bandit: Linguistic & Literacy Networks of Fugitive Black
Joy (with T. Lewis & L. Allen)
- Panel: Y’all Can’t Ban It, Languaging Like a Bandit: Linguistic & Literacy Networks of Fugitive Black
- Transdisciplinary Approaches to Language and Literacy (TALLER) 2024 • College Park, MD, USA • April 26, 2024
- Roundtable: Languaging Bridges & Fractures: In Pursuit of Fugitive Black Joy (with T. Lewis & L. Allen)
- Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA) 2022 • Hybrid Conference / Edwardsville, IL USA • October 27-28, 2022
- Panel: Supporting Black Liberatory Space through Reflexive Imagination (with D.G. Sodani, A. Mena, & R. Payne)
- National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) - English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) 2022 • Louisville, KY, USA • July 29-31, 2022
- Panel: Centering Identity as Pedagogy in Teacher Education (with L. Allen, & J. Chi)