Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These programs provide the support and opportunity for FGCS to enroll, persist and graduate from college. This study examined a college access program in Southern California, Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), a program that begins as early as third grade for students and their parents. A phenomenological qualitative approach examined the experiences of first-generation college graduates and their parents who participated in BLCI. This research explored the interventions and activities that contributed to the success of enrollment, persistence and graduation from college within 6 years as a result of their participation in BLCI. The framework of critical race theory (CRT), in particular experiential knowledge or also known as storytelling and counter storytelling was used to guide this research. In addition, self-determination theory (SDT) was utilized to understand how it (1) affected their belief to persist, (2) impacted their belief to graduate, and (3) how BLCI impacted their self-efficacy. I assessed how BLCI delivered their services to meet their outcomes. Ten families were interviewed, insights on their experiences were gained and as a result four themes were developed. The findings of this study along with preexisting data affirmed the impact BLCI had on participants enrollment, persistence and graduation from college. In addition, the results found parents engagement throughout the pipeline to influence their child's aspirations of a college education and completion. BLCI's wrap around services for the entire family from workshops, to experiences outside the Barrio, to storytelling from previous alumni and staff played a pivotal role in participants successful completion of 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.]