Chancellor Linder ’19 Finds His Passion for History and Education at DelVal

Chancellor Linder '19, a history, policy and society alumni, completed an internship at Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. Linder was responsible for locating the graves and tombstones of veterans from the Civil War, WWI, and WWII eras. The location was in the process of building a virtual cemetery and needed assistance correctly translating the information onto the website. Through this experience, Linder learned how to navigate his way through a cemetery and read a cemetery’s map.

“I also came across some important people who had an impactful role in the Philadelphia area that were buried in this cemetery,” says Linder. “I enjoyed my time here because it made me think about history in a way I never did before.”

It has always been Linder’s goal to become an educator. He is currently a substitute teacher at MaST Community Charter School, a Math, Science, and Technology Community Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he hopes to transition to a full-time history teacher position.

Linder recalls his Differentiated Instruction course at DelVal, where he was tasked with creating lesson plans for students from the Central Bucks School District Intermediate Unit in the Aaron building every Thursday. This gave him the opportunity to experience creating his own lesson plan well before instructing a classroom.

“This only reinforced my desire to become an educator even more because it was a very pleasant learning experience for myself
and everyone involved,” explained Linder. “The faculty takes the time to understand each student’s unique situation, while still motivating and holding their students accountable to stay on top of their work.”

Linder is also appreciative of the family-like environment at DelVal, and its location was key. “Being from Philadelphia, although DelVal is not that far from my home, it still gave me enough sense of independence with the option to make a quick trip home for any reason,” says Linder. During his time at DelVal, Linder was a student-athlete, a member
of the Black Student Union, and a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.

“Remember you are making an investment in yourself, and you should try your absolute best to get the most out of it, whether it be academically, mentally, physically, financially or spiritually,” Linder advises. “A college campus has endless resources available in order to put you in a better position, but what’s important is how you use that to your advantage.”