Exploring the Lived Experiences and Intersectionalities of Mexican Community College Transfer Students: Qualitative Insights Toward Expanding a Transfer Receptive Culture

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examines the experiences of six Mexican community college transfer students attending a research-intensive institution in the Pacific Northwest. Using semi-structured interviews, the objectives of this study were to 1) understand how Mexican students made meaning of their transfer experiences and 2) how those experiences could inform conceptual and practical thinking toward building a transfer receptive culture at the receiving institution. We use intersectionality as a site of material and discursive possibility to encourage predominantly White receiving institutions to recognize how they position Mexican community college transfer students on campus. Concluding are conceptual and practical recommendations that emphasize institutional and organizational responsibility in creating equitable environments for Mexican community college transfer students.

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the participants in this study. We extend a special thank you to Parthiban Muniandy, Stephanie Reider, Patrick Dilley, and Sandra Dika for their thoughtful and constructive feedback on early drafts of this manuscript. We are also appreciative for comments provided from an anonymous reviewer in the revision process. Any errors or oversights that remain are our own.

Notes

¹The politics of identity and identity labels are always in flux. In this essay, we use the term Latinx as a gender-neutral term to refer to female, male, transgender, gender queer, and gender nonconforming individuals who racially, ethnically, and/or culturally identify as descendants of Latin Americas—including South and Central America as well as colonized and borderized territories of North America. Certainly, the extent to which gender matters in languages other than English is an unsettled question, and our aim here is simply to be inclusive of individuals who do not identify within the gender binary. Unless we are directly citing other research, we use the term Latinx to refer to student groups traditionally included in the terms Latino, Latina, and Latina/o.

²According to the U.S. Census 2010 questionnaire, Hispanic refers to individuals who classify themselves as Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban and/or individuals who identify as “another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin” (para. 3). The latter refer to individuals whose origins are from Spain, Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, or the Dominican Republic (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_RHI725214.htm).