A. L. Rouse 

(He/They)

3rd Year PhD Student

Educational Psychology - Human Development & Learning

University of Illinois Chicago

I am currently pursuing my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology - Human Development and Learning, with complementary emphases in Black Studies and Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics & Assessment. My research focuses on access to computing/STEM education, the formation of students' collective agency leveraging technology, and culturally relevant and responsive curriculum and teaching methods for Black and Latine students. I also aim to draw connections between their lived experiences and STEM knowledge, examining how different epistemological approaches in education, research, and design can promote human-centric technology. I employ interdisciplinary and epistemically diverse approaches to address systemic barriers in education. My personal identities, community engagement, and years of corporate technology experience, paired with my values, inform my pedagogy and praxis.

When my battery needs recharging, I lean toward community organizing, hitting golf balls off into the distance, turning on my favorite vinyl album while doing that day's NYT's connections puzzle, and continuing to build knowledge through reading.