Ernesta Cole is interested in linguistic expression and stigmatization of and between English, indigenous and native languages in Sierra Leone and other West African countries. She earned a Master’s degree from the International and Regional Studies Program specializing in African Studies from the University of Michigan (2023) and a BA in English and Sociology from Hope College (2021). Ernesta has received the Kemper K. Knapp University Fellowship for her doctoral research in African Cultural Studies here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.