While significant advancements in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are at the forefront of society, there continues to be a considerable gender and racial gap in the advancement of women of color in these fields (Espinosa, 2011; Ong et al., 2011; Shein, 2018). Low completion rates are even greater when looking at Black and…

Research Focus: Most of the current research focusing on Latinas succeeding academically has been conducted at the undergraduate and master's level. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the experience of Latinas in their doctoral program and what leads them to complete a doctoral degree. Latinas currently have low completion…

Leader development in academic medicine is lacking for women, particularly women of color. The problem is Black and Hispanic/Latinx women are underrepresented in leadership positions in academic medicine. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine if a statistically significant difference existed between the…

This narrative inquiry study explored the stories of six self-identified Latinas or Hispanic women who work as educational developers in postsecondary institutions. The study sought to understand the simultaneity of multiple social identities as experienced by the participants. Simultaneity is defined as a dynamic framework from critical feminist…

This chapter employs findings from 6 months of ethnographic observations with four Salvadoran first-generation immigrant women living in a suburban neighborhood in the western United States. We document these women's authentic experiences with navigating everyday linguistic interactions in Spanish and English, showing how the women's participation…

Latina students face numerous barriers within the financial aid application process that impact the success rates of their higher education attainment. The financial aid application process is initiated through the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Unfortunately, the FAFSA, as it is currently written is not…

Purpose: With the rise of the Latinx student population in the United States and the urgency to meet the needs of this diverse community, there has been an increased concern and interest in preparing more Latinx educators and school leaders. This study contributes to this knowledge base by centering the voices and experiences of four Latina school…

Many Latinas encounter negative expectations regarding their chances of attending college in the United States. Dominant narratives legitimize these structural and relational negations by depicting Latinas as a group that voluntarily lowers their expectations of themselves as they move through the education pipeline. To increase the representation…

Although the Mexican population is experiencing tremendous growth, they continue to lag behind the national average in, and have amongst the lowest, educational attainment levels of all Latinos/as (Perez Huber et al., 2015). Some studies have looked at the experience of Mexicans along the K-12, undergraduate, and doctoral educational pipelines.…

Research shows that cultural, socioeconomic, and challenging college admission processes are three themes plaguing Latina students pursing higher education. Latinas are faced with familial obligations, strained income gaps, and limited resources supporting their college application process. The purpose of this study was to determine if enrollment…

This dissertation examined the motivation and source of support for first-generation Latina community college students who aspire to transfer to a four-year institution. The study is informed by Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth model, to explore how participants navigate their school environment and the vertical transfer process through an…

During the Spring semester of 2020, due to a global pandemic caused by the widespread of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, a sudden swift shift to remote instruction radically shook student experiences. Unplanned and disruptive, new struggles ("luchas") emerged. Inspired by Castillo-Montoya and Torres-Guzmán, who sought to reclaim the lived…

Historically, low-income Catholic secondary schools have provided opportunities for underrepresented students to receive quality education and matriculate to community college and four-year universities. This trend continues today, yet for schools like one in this study who identify as college preparatory schools, what happens to students once…

Many efforts have been made to enroll more women and other underrepresented groups into STEM fields, including the current NSF-funded S-STEM (S-4) program at our University. S-4 aims to increase enrollment and retention in STEM majors through student activities such as a summer transition to University program, the development of a Learning…

In this duoethnography we, a Latina and Filipina, write letters to each other reflecting on a video discussing our graduate student lives and shared journal entries during COVID-19. After revisiting the reflections, we share what makes the marginal space of a Midwest university unique and transformative. By analyzing our experiences, as Women of…