How One Instructor Promotes Belonging Through Anime

Instructor Emilie Waggoner doesn’t just teach about transformation—she lives it. With her signature rainbow glasses, tattoos inspired by the anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, and hair colors that rotate between hues from pink to green, she models to her students what it means to show up authentically as themselves in academic spaces. Waggoner, CU Denver’s director of student transitions, teaches the popular First-Year Experiences seminar Anime Goes to College.

She helps students, especially those that are first-generation, navigate the transition to college by exploring identity, belonging, and personal growth through a medium they know and love: anime. “When you are making any kind of big transition [like college], it can be scary,” Waggoner explained. “And anime tends to have magical world elements that show exactly that. How do you figure out your place in a new world? That’s what a lot of our students are doing.”

Creating Space for First-Generation College Students

Waggoner’s anime-infused curriculum inspires self-reflection and supports students in imagining who they want to become. From day one, she encourages students to bring their whole selves into the classroom. “When students see a character who they love going through the same struggles, being told they can’t succeed, being underestimated, it helps them reframe their own challenges,” Waggoner said. “Anime tells them, you’re going to find your people, and you’re going to grow, even if it’s hard.”

This framework helps provide a softer landing for students transitioning to college, which may feel unfamiliar. Her course is not only a key part of CU Denver’s Lynx Summer Academy—which is a bridge program designed to support first-generation students before their first semester begins—but it’s also offered during the academic year by popular demand.

Blending Pop Culture with Academic Rigor

Waggoner is more than a passionate instructor—she’s also a scholar. With two master’s degrees and a doctor of education in progress at CU Denver, her research focuses on anime fandom, identity development, and student transitions. In the summer of 2025, she kicked off the JAMS@AX Academic Symposium at the Anime Expo in Los Angeles as the keynote speaker. The event—held at the largest anime convention in the U.S.—draws more than 100,000 attendees every year.

For first-generation students who may feel pressure to change themselves to “fit” into college, her example is powerful. “You can be a serious scholar and still love anime. You can have pink hair and still publish academic research,” she said. “I want students to see that there’s no one way to belong in higher ed.” She uses that mindset and knowledge to design her Anime Goes to College course.

Students read peer-reviewed articles, write papers using analytical thinking, and explore developmental theory through the lens of anime and media studies. “When they read peer-reviewed research on anime, it blows their minds,” Waggoner said. “They see themselves reflected in scholarship for the first time. That’s where confidence blooms.” The outcomes are evident in the feedback Waggoner receives from her students. “One student said, ‘I feel smarter every time I leave this class,’” Waggoner said. “That’s the goal.”

Anime and Identity: Asking Big Questions in the Classroom

One of the many things that draws Waggoner to anime is that the TV shows aren’t afraid to ask big questions. “What’s my purpose? How do I handle failure? Who do I want to be? These are the same questions students ask when they come to college,” Waggoner said.

Her course invites students to engage with these questions through stories that reflect their own experiences. By the end of the semester, students leave with more than a grade—they gain a deeper understanding of themselves and others.

“I like to think they walk away with language to describe why people act the way they do, and why they approach situations the way they do,” Waggoner said. “When they hit something difficult, like a bad grade or a team conflict, they’ll think back to these stories and theories and say, ‘OK, I know how to move through this.’”