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Please subscribe to receive new updates as I share my writing, whether it be my research, reflections, or the threading of wanderlust.


Our Stories
Reflections on the stories we're told and leaning into a culture of connection and rest over hustle and grind.
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
7 days ago7 min read
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What We Should Do
A Doctor Who quote, some graffiti, and a flat in Spain; sometimes the universe whispers, “You’re exactly where you’re meant to be.”
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Mar 239 min read
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The Importance of Cultural Exchange
With pen in hand and notebook open, I peer out the bus window, admiring the various landscapes in the many different neighborhoods. I...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Mar 157 min read
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The Fulbright Program and What We Can Do
Fulbright Scholars around the world are without money right now: Here's what we can do.
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Mar 86 min read
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I Have Nothing to Offer
I woke up this morning and laid in bed longer than I wanted. Today, my seventh day in Spain, a thought crossed my mind: I have nothing to...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Jan 208 min read
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A Good Night's Sleep
Monday’s excitement was met by Tuesday’s trepidation. Having to move my flight back several times - initially planning on leaving...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Jan 155 min read
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The Wanderlust Threader
A year before I finished my PhD I created my public profile on various social media platforms. The handle was some variation of “Charley...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Oct 24, 20244 min read
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On Grief and Humanization Amid Neoliberalism
It’s been no secret that I juggle a lot. I always have. In high school, I worked 32 hours weekly at a grocery store while balancing...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Oct 15, 20248 min read
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10 Tips for the Grad School Journey
These 10 tips are designed for graduate students, and potential graduate students, during their grad school journeys.
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
May 26, 202414 min read
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Reflections on Wanderlust Thanks to the Fulbright Award
Reflections on adventure and travel after receiving a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award.
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
May 17, 20249 min read
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Home is the Next Adventure
I wrote this in 2019 after a trip from Los Angeles to San Diego. I strumbled across it and felt it was fitting with the major changes in...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
May 5, 20244 min read
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Nostalgic Melodies
Music fills the air, and the vibrations tiptoe down my spine, Whispering loud reminders of who I was once, And am now, And will be. A...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Apr 8, 20241 min read
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The Educator I Want to Be
The following entry includes two excerpts from a section of my memoir focused on my diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm and how it influenced...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Feb 23, 202414 min read
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I Was Korean Until the 2nd Grade, and Again When I Had a Cerebral Pseudoaneurysm
This entry is about my identity as a white, Korean neurodivergent woman. Part of this identity also encompasses my connection to my...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Dec 13, 202311 min read
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Project Update: 11.6.23
Several weeks ago I put together a small research lab through the nonprofit, The Dignified Learning Project (DLP). This research lab is...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Nov 6, 20231 min read
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On Teaching Stats
“I feel so smart!” one student exclaimed. I looked over as she had her phone out, using the Desmos app as her calculator. Calculating her...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Oct 31, 20237 min read
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What We Know and What We Ask
I’ve found there are two major schools of thought when it comes to research - you’re a [qualitative, quantitative, etc.] researcher, or...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Sep 19, 20237 min read
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Why I Write
I stood trembling in a library. I gripped the small, blue book tightly. Surveying the entire library, family members were present,...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Aug 27, 20237 min read
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Barbie, bell hooks, Plato, & the Patriarchy
** If you haven’t seen the Barbie movie yet, please note that there will be spoilers in this piece.** I played with Barbie dolls, but...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Aug 18, 20237 min read
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Water Color Skies
Right around the end of May, you’ll find me preparing my car, preparing it for an annual road trip to Illinois, where I spend a...
Charlene Holkenbrink-Monk
Aug 10, 20237 min read
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