FGCS experience barriers to college completion, graduate at lower rates, and drop out before the second year compared to non-FGCS. Previous research showed FGCS socially involved in programs, clubs, and organizations persist at higher rates than FGCS who are not socially involved. Astin's (1984) student involvement theory proposes students who are involved in different activities, on varying levels, flourished in a way that improved their chances of college completion. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory single-case study was to explore how FGCS, enrolled beyond their first year at a large urban community college in southeastern United States, described the role social involvement played in their persistence in higher education. The researcher utilized Yin's (2014) 5-step analysis process to analyze data from three sources and presented themes to address RQs. Social involvement provided an increased sense of belonging, feelings of support, opportunities to connect, and career related experiences. FGCS who were not formally involved in programs, clubs, and organizations described the same benefits from engagement and interaction with faculty and staff on campus. Results confirmed the positive impact of engagement and interaction with faculty and staff. FGCS described feeling valued, acknowledged, and appreciated that led to a stronger investment to the college, academics, their future, and persistence. Exploring FGCS social involvement experiences and the role of social involvement in relation to persistence is key, to develop social involvement activities including programs, and strategies to increase FGCS persistence. [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.]