Postsecondary institutions hold great potential to cultivate students' well-being. Yet many postsecondary students experience negative well-being and struggle to find socio-emotional support on campus. This study explores the interplay between students and postsecondary institutions regarding well-being and is informed by the following: (1) How do at-promise students at three midwestern universities navigate their wellbeing during their 1st-year transition to college and what conditions facilitate their well-being? (2) What barriers do at-promise students face in experiencing well-being? This study is designed as a qualitative exploratory interview study. Findings demonstrate that external student supportive factors like family support, instructors, advisors, counselors, mentors, and peers made positive contributions to at-promise student well-being as they navigated their 1st-year transition to college. Findings also demonstrated that at-promise students were at varying levels of development regarding their mobilization of internal student supportive factors; specifically, their skills of self-awareness, social awareness, relationship management, and coping skills. The analysis illustrated that at-promise students experienced a wide range of stressors and were able to utilize external and internal student-supportive factors to be able to continue with their college journeys. The findings showed how powerful of an impact a caring and invested empowerment agent can have on students and their well-being and even on their motivation to persist through college and graduate. Ultimately, data highlighted the complexities of the development of individuals psychologically, socially, and academically. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]