The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how first-year Black American students describe the role of resilience, as expressed through the components of purposefulness, adaptability, social support, and confidence, in fostering student success in online undergraduate US higher education institutions. The main theoretical foundation of this study was the Robertson-Cooper Model of Resilience. This study described how resilience was a factor in student success for Black American. There are five research questions: How do first-year Black American students enrolled in an online undergraduate program describe the role of resilience, through the components of purposefulness, adaptability, social support, and confidence in fostering student success? The population was Black American undergraduates in online institutions of higher education. The sample was 10 Black American first year undergraduate students 18 plus years old in online two or four-year institutions of higher learning. They were recruited from social media and the APA division 1 listserv. Data Analysis was done through Braun and Clarks six step thematic analysis. The researcher examined the five research question themes and determined that there are five overarching themes. These were Overcoming Obstacles and Achieving Goals, Self-belief, Implicit Bias, Adaptability, and Lack of School Support. Conclusions: The Robertson-Cooper Model of Resilience is useful in understanding the role of the factors of resilience, purposefulness, social support, confidence, and adaptability as it applies to academic success. The study gave significant insight into the components of resilience and student success of the Black American Undergraduate Student. [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.]