Understanding the Experiences of TRIO SSS Students as They Navigate Higher Education

First-generation, low-income college students are an increasing population at American universities and colleges (Tinto, 2012). TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) is an academic support program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that seeks to support this demographic in overcoming challenges and thriving while in college (Coffman, 2011). Utilizing a qualitative methods approach, I sought to understand the experiences of TRIO SSS students through their eyes at a public, four-year institution in the Southwest. In this project, I ask, what are the experiences of low-income, first-generation students as they navigate campus services? Specifically, how does participating in TRIO SSS shape their experiences? In their interviews, TRIO SSS students reflected on their cultural adaption, academic integration, and social integration. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of four major themes: (a) mentorship: High school teachers and counselors play a critical role in providing school based cultural capital. (b) parental support: The parents impacted the educational decisions of the participants even though they did not attend college themselves. (c) sibling influence: College educated siblings provide cultural capital needed to navigate higher education, and (d) academic resiliency: TRIO SSS supplements the mentorship provided by precollege teachers, counselors and others in promoting college readiness, the cultural capital provided by parents, and the sibling influence provide by siblings who also attend college. All of the interview participants identified a personal connection to their time in TRIO SSS. Implications for practice included, but were not limited to, promoting college readiness programs such as Association Via Individual Determination (AVID), equipping parents with academic preparedness skills of college systems, higher education expectations, harnessing the viii college-going behaviors siblings transmit to each other and expanding university programs with more funding to replicate efforts in student success programs. Recommendations for future research include exploring the financial relationships between parents and low-income, first-generations students, the relationship between TRIO SSS counselors and program participants. TRIO SSS counselors play an integral role in empowering students to get acclimated to a college campus, develop a sense of belonging, and gain academic skills. They help fill gaps that exist for students while serving as advisors, counselors, friends, confidant, parental figures and are most likely the most trusted agent within the institution. Studying that relationship would most certainly lead to additional strategies that could be implemented for student success.