Cherish Golden
Credentials: Ed-GRS Fellow
Cherish (She/Her) is a third-year PhD student in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis department and is advised by Dr. Rachelle Winkle-Wagner. She comes with over ten years of experience working in higher education in difference capacities. She attended the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater as a transfer student, receiving associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Her research explores how historically marginalized students navigate to and through higher education. In doing so, she focuses on three tenets: (1) student experiences, (2) persistence, retention, and educational attainment, and (3) how institutions dismantle or perpetuate systemic and systematic barriers.
Education
Master of Science in Education in Professional Development (2018), University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology (2016), University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Associate of Arts in General Studies (2015), University of Wisconsin–Whitewater
Publications
Contreras-García, N., Luedke, C. L., & Golden, C. (2024). The role of relational reciprocity: How students’ families support and influence them during the transition to higher education. Education Sciences, 14(7), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14070689
Service
Legislative Affairs Committee, Associated Students of Madison (April 24, 2025 to Present)
Color of Drinking Survey Taskforce, Associated Students of Madison (July 1, 2025 to Present)
Shared Governance Committee, Associated Students of Madison (January 22, 2025 to Present)
Student Council Graduate Student Representative, Associated Students of Madison (December 4, 2024 to Present)
New Graduate Student Welcome Panelist (August 28, 2024)
Summer Education Research Program (SERP) Graduate Mentor (May 2023 to August 2024)
Student Representative, School of Education Dean search-and-screen committee (November 2023 to May 2024)
Awards & Honors
University of Wisconsin–Madison Education Graduate Research Scholars Fellowship Program (2023-2028)
Universities of Wisconsin Administration Higher Education Fellowship Program (2023-2025)
University of Wisconsin–Whitewater P.B. Poorman Pride Center’s Outstanding LGBT*, Sexuality, or Gender Identity Research or Presentation (2018)