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Erica Holyoke, PhD, has been named a 2026–27 Fulbright U.S. Scholar, one of the most prestigious and competitive honors in global higher education. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the program recognizes accomplished faculty and researchers for their scholarly excellence and capacity to advance international collaboration. Since its founding in 1946, Fulbright has supported scholars working in more than 160 countries, with alumni including heads of state, Nobel laureates, and leading voices across disciplines.

For Holyoke, an assistant professor in Literacy Education in the School of Education & Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver, the honor reflects both the impact of her research and its growing relevance in a globally interconnected world.

Beginning this fall, she will spend nine months in northern Spain conducting research on how children’s literature shapes belonging in multilingual classrooms. At the center of her work is a guiding question: What stories do we tell about connection and community—and how do those stories shape children’s lives?

Where Belonging Begins

Images of picturebooks Holyoke will use during her Fulbright: Collection of Stories: Words of the World by Alberto Celdrán, which are global oral stories.

In Holyoke’s work, children’s picturebooks are not just texts—they are formative spaces where identity takes shape. A single page can invite children to see themselves reflected, encounter new perspectives, and begin to understand how they live alongside others.

Her research traces how children use language and storytelling to author their sense of both individuality and shared community. In one classroom, a student described community as “22 hearts coming into one,” illustrating how children understand belonging as both personal and collective.

For Holyoke, that kind of insight is both inspiration and directive: children are not just learning about community—they are actively creating it.

Why Spain, Why Now

Cantabria, Spain

That belief will guide her work in Cantabria, Spain, where she will partner with the University of Cantabria’s Calíope Research Group to examine how picturebooks function in plurilingual educational settings. Her project blends literary analysis with collaboration, working alongside educators to co-create insights and practical tools, including bilingual resources and a public-facing anthology that connects educators across Spain and the United States.

Spain offers a particularly dynamic context. With longstanding linguistic diversity—Spanish, Basque, Catalan, Galician, and regional dialects—combined with national priorities around multilingual education and global citizenship, classrooms are already grappling with the realities of a connected, multilingual world. 

For Holyoke, this is not just an academic opportunity—it’s a chance to learn from a system actively working to integrate language, identity, and community at scale.

“I’ve been studying belonging and identity in U.S. contexts,” she explained. “This is an opportunity to explore that work in a completely different sociopolitical and educational setting.” 

A Family Immersion in Language and Place

Image of Holyoke and her family

The journey is also deeply personal.

Holyoke will relocate with her spouse and two young children, who will attend school in Spain and experience multilingual learning firsthand. Already enrolled in a bilingual program in the United States, her children are preparing to step into an environment where language learning is not a subject—but a way of life. 

“We’ll all be language learners,” she said. 

The overlap between her research and family life is intentional. Both ask the same questions: How do we learn to belong? How do we connect across difference? And how do stories help us get there?

What Comes Next

When Holyoke returns to CU Denver, her Fulbright experience will inform how future educators are prepared to teach in diverse, multilingual classrooms.

Fulbright Scholars are selected not only for academic achievement, but for their ability to translate international collaboration into lasting contributions that strengthen scholarship and institutions.

“We are incredibly proud of Erica for earning this Fulbright award,” said Marvin Lynn, PhD, dean of the School of Education & Human Development. “Her work reflects rigorous scholarship that strengthens how educators support belonging and learning across communities. This recognition speaks to the impact of her work and its continued influence at CU Denver and beyond.”

More than a milestone, the Fulbright situates Holyoke within a global community of scholars advancing knowledge through collaboration and exchange, ensuring her work continues to shape how educators understand literacy, belonging, and community in an interconnected world.