Hello, I’m Torrence.

I am a PhD student attending Rutgers University—New Brunswick, in Educational Theory, Organization, and Policy, with a Black Studies approach, in the Graduate School of Education.

My research interests uses qualitative methods to explore how schools shape Black adolescents racial and political consciousness, as well as how schools become and act as sites of Black suffering and anti-Black violence. My work involves conceptualizing Black suffering, unpacking the relationship between racism, education, and adolescent development, examining the ways anti-Blackness persist in social justice oriented schools; as well as examining what ways does anti-Blackness persists in education policy discourses on the worth of investment in Black children

Prior to Rutgers, I worked as a public school teacher in Denver where I taught 6th and 7th grade ELA. I have a MA in Learning Sciences & Human Development from University of Colorado Boulder and a BA in Sociology, with a minor in Africana Studies, from the University of Northern Colorado, where I was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar. As a McNair scholar, I conducted program award-winning research exploring how Black students navigated and made sense of the racism they experienced while attending a Historically White College and University, and ultimately the effects of racism—resulting in Racial Battle Fatigue.

My site contains my CV, information about my research and teaching. Feel free to contact me here.