While the value of mentoring has long been presumed in the literature as well as in practices, little is known about the success of formal, and informal mentoring practices (Crisp, 2010; Crisp & Cruz, 2009; & Ward & Ball, 2016). In addition, there is a lack of research on community college student mentoring in higher education literature in general. Moreover, the scholarship on mentoring focuses on the four-year colleges. Yet, mentoring for the first-generation community college student isn't well documented. However, in this study, of particular concern is the impact of mentoring and the experiences of the first-generation community college transfer students (FGCCTSs), as it applies to their academic success, and their retention upon transfer to the four-year college. Conversely, through a narrative inquiry approach, this study concentrated on interviews and survey data to construct a conclusion on the impact of mentoring. Findings reveal that the impact of mentoring has a positive influence on their college experiences, and that mentoring is an effective retention strategy, positively influencing FGCCTS' transfers to four-year colleges and even post-baccalaureate education. Through mentorship, participants were able to academically succeed, persist, and graduate despite a myriad of challenges. As a result of this study's findings, I suggest institutions more closely assess their budgets to fund and support formal and informal mentoring strategies. In addition, to being effective for the FGCCTS the benefits will positively affect the administrators, guidance counselors, academic advisors, directors of mentoring programs, policy makers and educational leaders, at both community colleges and four-year college. [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.]