Abstract
Research has demonstrated that first-generation graduate students may experience similar challenges as they did while completing their undergraduate careers. Many of these challenges surround imposter phenomenon, finding a sense of belonging, and being from historically excluded populations. In this case, we explore the dynamics between these concepts during the COVID-19 pandemic. We present a scenario to help readers consider the intersection of race, gender, first-generation status, and being a graduate student during unprecedented times. The case also presents challenges faced by student affairs practitioners in responding with the appropriate supports in this context.
Keywords/Phrases: First-Generation, Graduate Students, Sense of Belonging
Primary Characters
Kaila (she, her, hers) is in her final year of her master’s-level graduate program in Student Affairs and Higher Education (SAHE) at Golden State University (GSU). Kaila identifies as a Black woman and as a returning adult learner. Kaila is also the only Black identifying student in her cohort. Kaila is a first-generation college graduate, and a first-generation graduate student. Kaila’s mother graduated high school and her father graduated elementary school. Kaila describes her experience in her master’s program as positive overall but has experienced some challenges during her time in the program that caused her to extend her time-to-degree for one additional year. Now in her final year, Kaila (like all other graduate students) is experiencing challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift of the program online.
Mayra (she, her, hers) serves as the student affairs program advisor to the SAHE program at GSU. She has served in this capacity for over five years and is very familiar with the program, the cohort model, and the program faculty. Mayra’s department offers administrative support services to students, and students often interface with Mayra regarding any challenges they might be experiencing throughout the program. Mayra has her master’s degree in student affairs and identifies as a Latina and first-generation college graduate.
Context and Case
Institutional Context
Golden State University (GSU) is a large, public, four-year university located in an urban California community within the 23-school California State University system. GSU boasts over 60 different master’s degree programs with over 6,000 graduate-level students. Additionally, based on institutional data available for the fall 2020 incoming graduate student population, GSU’s first-generation graduate student population makes up 54% of the overall student population.
The graduate student population at GSU continues to grow as the number of master’s-level applications received at the site increased by 16% from 2019 to 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a significant societal context for graduate education at GSU. It was not necessarily the pandemic alone that forced this increase in graduate-level student enrollment, but rather the potential (and real) economic downfall caused by the pandemic, as it is well-documented that during times of recession, individuals return to school in the hope of improving or securing future career prospects (Barr & Turner, 2013; Dworak, 2020).
GSU is designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) as well as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). Based on institutional data available for fall 2020 incoming graduate student population, GSU welcomed approximately 1,900 new graduate students. The racial/ethnic information for incoming graduate students was 43% Latinx; 23% White; 16% Asian; 6% studying on a visa from out-of-country; 4% Black; 4% two or more racial/ethnic identities; 4% unknown; less than1% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander; and less than 1%; American Indian.
Case
During the fall 2020 semester, Kaila reaches out to Mayra in an email to discuss possibly leaving the program in her 3rd and final year. In this email, it is clear to Mayra that Kaila does not feel she can keep up with the demands of the graduate program, including her upcoming comprehensive exams. Kaila’s email also hints at her not feeling very connected to the program anymore. Mayra quickly schedules a Zoom advising meeting with Kaila to determine how she can help. In this appointment, Kaila tells Mayra how things have always been difficult for her as a first-generation graduate student, and that graduate programs seem to assume that we carry a lot of “college knowledge” that can help us navigate graduate school. Kaila shares with Mayra:
Even once you have successfully navigated the undergraduate degree, you still don’t know about graduate school and that definitely affects us [first-gen students] throughout the program. Honestly, this is my fourth year and I’m still learning to navigate things. I’m that person that has read my handbook from the front cover to the back cover… It has been like this since the beginning. Even during the application period, I had so many questions about so many things like, what even is grad school? What is it like? No one could really explain the essence of it. It just was this thing shrouded in mystery and that’s scary for a first gen student, and especially one who struggled so long in undergrad because I’m like… ‘Well, if I don’t know what it is, how do I prepare for it? How do I know that I’m prepared? How can I succeed?’ I don’t want to spin my wheels here. You know all of these things, so it definitely has affected me. Even just having to explain to my family why I’m still in school. It seems like everything is a challenge.
On top of this, Kaila is feeling disconnected from the program after the shift to online. She cannot find community in this environment, which is necessary for her to push through the comprehensive exam. Kaila does not feel able to speak up, as she has zero anonymity in the department as the only Black female student in her cohort. She also says imposter phenomenon is holding her back from discussing this with her faculty, despite connecting with them in the past. She says, “I am always very afraid to come forward with these concerns because it’s going to be proof that I don’t belong here.”
Kaila describes feeling angry about the pandemic and feeling like there is not enough support, especially as the cohort members are in their internships. In those roles students are “getting hit on both sides” as they are placed in student affairs departments providing support to undergraduates during the pandemic while, “On the flip side we are students are we are not getting enough accommodations and support.”
Kaila also has concerns about how the pandemic will impact post-graduation employment. Kaila shares, “I love what we’re learning in the program, but we are also a part of higher education as students, but it’s not built for all of us. It’s not built for women, it’s not built for people of color, it’s not built for low-income people.”
Mayra validates what Kaila has shared, as she understands Kaila’s fears related comprehensive exam support and post-graduation employment opportunities in the current context. Mayra attempts to work with Kaila to highlight the positive things that she sees in Kaila. She also encourages Kaila recognizes her own assets, or Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) as those assets may have fostered resiliency for her. They also discuss the ways in which Kaila’s diverse and intersecting identities with being a first-generation graduate student not only impact her experiences, but also contribute to potentially feeling like an imposter (see Gable, 2021; Gardner & Holley 2011). However, Mayra also feels limited in her role in terms of supports she can offer Kaila regarding sense of belonging and programming during the pandemic.
Discussion Questions
- What are the primary challenges presented in this case?
- What are the immediate responses Mayra and the program can provide? What should a longer-term response look like?
- How might the different aspects of Kaila’s identity (e.g., race, gender, first-generation status) need different kinds of support?
- How can we re-think sense of belonging in an online and hybrid space to support students and advance equity and inclusion?
- How might the institution and program address first-generation graduate student challenges on campus? What programming and supports could be developed? Additionally, what institutional support is necessary for Mayra’s role?
References and Resources
Barr, A., & Turner, S. E. (2013). Expanding enrollments and contracting state budgets: The effect of the Great Recession on higher education. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 650(1), 168–193.
Dworak, A. (2020). United States university enrollment numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic recession. In Perspectives on the new normal: Post COVID19 (pp. 67-80). https://newsroom.smumn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Saint-Marys-University-Anthology-of-Research-Papers.pdf#page=67
Gable, R. (2021). The hidden curriculum: First generation students at legacy universities. Princeton University Press.
Gardner, S. K., & Holley, K. A. (2011). “Those invisible barriers are real”: The progression of first-generation students through doctoral education. Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(1), 77–92.
Lunceford, B. (2011). When first-generation students go to graduate school. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2011, 13–20.
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 8(1), 69–91.
Author Bios
Avery B. Olson, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at California State University, Long Beach. Her research examines the experiences and outcomes of underserved populations in higher education; the influence of context on student development; and the relationship between social policy, education, and social inequality in the contemporary United States.
Lindsay Sterk, Ed.D. (she/her) is the Assistant Director in the College of Business Graduate Programs Office at California State University, Long Beach. She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership from CSULB. Her research examines the experiences and outcomes of first-generation master’s level graduate students.