With the highest attrition rate of any minority group enrolled in higher education institutions, American Indian/Alaska Native students rightly garner considerable attention. Researchers and administrators study the factors for both attrition and persistence. Such scrutiny calls for studies of those individuals who successfully navigated the pressures and rigors of college academia. For many American Indian/Alaska Native college students' immersion into a new culture, such as that of higher education, may be frustrating. Often this can lead to alienation and withdrawal. Other students, however, successfully work through initial feelings of alienation, establish a purpose for their college endeavors, and persist through to graduation. This qualitative narrative inquiry study focuses on one traditional, bilingual Yup'ik Eskimo man and his perceptions of his college experiences. William Beans, of the Lower Yukon Delta region of southwestern Alaska, enrolled as an elementary education major at Western Oregon State College in 1982 and graduated in 1985. Data was gathered through person-to-person interviews. The framework for this study was Huffman's (2001) American Indian Transculturation Scheme, which include four stages: initial alienation (stage one), self-discovery (stage two), realignment (stage three), and participation (stage four). This study sought to understand William Beans' perceptions of his college experiences with these four stages and the turning points along his journey that helped him to persist through these stages. Further the study explored the cultural, social, and personal qualities of William Beans, a bicultural, professional Yup'ik Eskimo man. Finally this study queried William's view on how he fit the "walk in multiple worlds" metaphor. The study supported earlier research findings that American Indian/Alaska Native students highly benefit from supportive family and on-campus mentoring. The study also supported earlier findings that traditional American Indian/Alaska Native students are typically more likely to persist through to graduation than nontraditional American Indian/Alaska Native students. The results of this study further suggest that students who have a clear vision of the purpose of their college experience may tend to persist to graduation. [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.]