The third wave of college student development involves the use of critical and post-structural frameworks to reimagine formative constructs and concepts that have been key to understanding development in higher education settings. Using data from a constructivist grounded theory study centered on 20 queer Students of Color and their identity exploration, I mobilized intersectionality to further understand the relationship between systems of oppression and meaning making. Reflections from their interviews and reflection journals reveal three key findings: (a) seeing institutional environments as external authorities; (b) perceiving identities as fragmented due to fragmented campus resources; as well as (c) understanding and recognizing oppressive realities as leading to a desire for more complex meaning making. Implications for research and practice are then offered.