Women are underrepresented in the STEM workforce. This is due to microaggressions, gender biases, preconceived assumptions about their abilities, a lack of mentorship, and limited opportunities for advancement. While women are underrepresented as a whole, the deficit is even larger when it comes to Latinas, who only make up a fraction of the…

Intercollegiate athletics are an integral element of higher education in the United States. They serve a critical role in fostering students' sense of comradeship while promoting competitive play among campuses and institutions. Despite such programs' significance in enhancing a spirit of sportsmanship in higher education, few psychological…

The research and discourse surrounding Black women in college has continued to expand in its scope in recent years. Scholars have written about Black college women in several ways describing the intersections of their multiple identities, racial battle fatigue, and the unique adversities they face (McKinzie & Richards, 2019, Shahid et al,…

There is a significant gap in the number of women who go into college as computer science majors and decide to pursue the field in the workforce. There are challenges present for female students since the start of their education that their male counterparts do not face, which ultimately contributes to this gender gap. Such challenges include a…

The nursing profession is in the midst of an epic shortage that will require an additional 400 thousand new nurses by 2026 due to an aging population (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2019) and it's estimated that 11% of the current workforce will leave the profession entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Raso et. al., 2021). Simultaneously, the…

In previous studies, Black gay males have shared their lived experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), but the voices of outwardly presently gay Black males remain void in the literature and how they navigate such institutions. Despite their community and relationship-based environment, the foundational tenets of HBCUs…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological investigation was to examine the barriers to academic success experienced by female African American college athletes. In addition, the ways these athletes believed postsecondary institutions could provide better support and resources to ensure academic success were examined. Data were gathered via…

Personal narrative and research stress that Black womxn college students employ various types of coping strategies to navigate anti-Black gendered racism at institutional and interpersonal levels while obtaining their college degrees. Throughout this dissertation, I explore how Black college womxn and femmes coped with gendered racism at the…

This qualitative study focuses on the experiences of Women of Color in doctoral programs to highlight the challenges they face, the silences they encounter, and the navigational tools they utilize to persist through their programs. Women of Color continue to be marginalized in academia and face many challenges when earning graduate degrees…

Black women undergraduate STEM students at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) contend with difficult experiences in their academic majors (Charleston et al., 2014; Fletcher et al., 2017; Johnson, 2007; McGee & Bentley, 2017). Black women undergraduate STEM students are battling isolation, microaggressions, chilly climate, and other…

Black women have engaged through social media platforms, as a mechanism to uplift their embodiment, despite being relegated to the margins. The hashtag #BlackGirlMagic (BGM) is linked to narratives of Black women in higher education that are empowering and problematic. The development of the popular social media movement during a time when Black…

Women continue to be underrepresented within the STEM field. This qualitative, narrative, research student explores the expectations and experiences of women enrolled in a STEM program during their second year. Focusing on understanding their relationships with academic advising, faculty, and peers of all genders. Semi-structured interviews were…

The research study topic was the persistence experience of male nursing students pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN). Persistence describes students who continually progress despite obstacles. There is a well-known and confirmed gender gap in nursing education and the nursing profession. The most significant aspect of the…

Students' motivational beliefs about physics can influence their engagement and performance in physics as well as retention in their majors and careers. Students from underrepresented groups in physics such as women may not have enough encouragement and role models to help them develop strong motivational beliefs in physics. The societal…

In this project, I examine the emotional and lived experiences of women of color (WOC) graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and how they embody and negotiate racism, classism, and sexism in academia, particularly in White, men-dominated STEM spaces. I utilize critical race theory and intersectionality to…