This study aimed to give a chance to low-income students of higher education to share the stories of their lives, which would benefit the current and future low-income students. The focus of the study is on the motivational factors for low-income students while dealing with economic and social obstacles. The theoretical framework of this study was based on two theories: Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth (CCW; Yosso, 2005) and Self-determination Theory (SDT), which was developed by Ryan and Deci (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The first theory highlights the importance of Community Cultural Wealth in keeping low-income students motivated, and the second theory underlines the impact of Self-determination Theory. The study contemplates the effects of six types of Community Cultural Wealth and two kinds of motivation mentioned in Self-determination Theory. The research design was a narrative study approach using semi-structured in-depth interviews, which included the participants sharing their stories, including their cultural background, socio-economic status, and experience in high school, college, and the family. The participants were five males and five females from low-income families who earned their undergraduate degrees from Saint Peter's University in New Jersey. Through an analysis of the results, a better understanding of the motivational factors and how they affect low-income students' persistence and success was recognized. The themes emerged while analyzing the interview transcripts within Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth Theory and Ryan and Deci's Self-determination Theory frameworks. Yosso's theory includes aspirational capital, familial capital, social capital, resistant capital, linguistic capital, and navigational capital. Self-determination theory includes Amotivation, Extrinsic motivation, and Intrinsic motivation. This research suggests that all six types of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), along with Extrinsic and Intrinsic motivation of Self-determination theory, influence low-income students' desire to pursue higher education, persistence, and success. [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.]