2022-2024 Fellows

Erin Purvis (left), Joyce Kim (middle), and Laura Ogburn (right)

Erin Purvis (left), Joyce Kim (middle), and Laura Ogburn (right)

Joyce Kim, Sociology and Higher Education Division, School of Arts & Sciences and Graduate School of Education 
Faculty Advisor: Amalia Daché, Associate Professor, Higher Education Division, Graduate School of Education
Joyce plans to design and teach an ABCS course that critically examines how the university can be a site of social change, particularly through activism that focuses on solidarity across various racial and ethnic communities in Philadelphia. Her research interests include social movements on college campuses and career-decision making of first-generation, low-income students. Before beginning her Ph.D., Joyce worked in research and education roles in Boston, the UK, the Bay Area, and Seoul. She is excited to be working with the Netter Center again, which was a formative part of her undergraduate experience at Penn.

Laura Ogburn, Teaching, Learning & Teacher Education Division, Graduate School of Education
Faculty Advisor: Rand Quinn, Associate Professor, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division, Graduate School of Education
Laura plans to design and teach an ABCS course on education reform, in which Penn students and Philadelphia public school students collaborate to propose solutions to educational issues they identify and address questions about whose expertise matters in conversations about education.
Laura's research interests include student involvement in education reform, how adult decision-makers respond to youth advocacy, and ideas about whose expertise matters in conversations about education. Prior to her time at Penn, Laura taught kindergarten and pre-k in West Philadelphia and Atlanta, and did college access work with high school students in Boston and Austin.

Erin Purvis, Biomedical Graduate Studies, Perelman School of Medicine
Faculty Advisor: Lori Flanagan-Cato, Associate Professor, Psychology, School of Arts & Sciences
Erin plans to design and teach an ABCS course for Biomedical Graduate Students, in which they facilitate hands-on engagement with Paul Robeson High School students, develop science education policy proposals, and critically reflect on the connection between local engagement and Penn’s academic research. Additionally, she plans to lay the groundwork for a Community Engagement Graduate Certificate. 
Erin's dissertation research harnesses a stem cell source in the adult brain to engineer a new treatment strategy for traumatic brain injury. Erin is interested in creating a greater connection between community and scientific training for doctoral students at Penn. She plans to create a formalized academic program for graduate students in the Perelman School of Medicine to get involved in community engagement in West Philadelphia. Prior to starting her PhD at Penn, Erin worked as a laboratory technician and manager in a neuroscience laboratory at the University of California at Santa Barbara.