Knowing them first, in order to serve them best: Exploring the Pacific Islander college experience at Utah's 2-year institutions of higher education

The purpose of this study was to understand the distinct experiences of Pacific Islander (PI) college students who have attended a 2-year institution of higher education in Utah to incorporate access and retention strategies for addressing this population at Westminster College. By way of individual interviews, the personal narratives of eight PI participants with the shared identity of attending either Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) or Snow College as a part- or full-time student were collected. Data on PI student populations, disaggregated from Asian American students, are sorely wanting and especially for those PI students at the community college level. Through individual and paired interviews, I was able to gain further insight to the experiences of PI community college students, identify voiced and implied needs, and ultimately propose a strategic method to increase the number of PI transfer students enrolling at Westminster. The incredibly strong focus on family roles, responsibilities, and relationships was a common theme amongst all of the eight participants and many of them also encountered the challenge of finding mobility amongst an increase in social capital. The data have led me to determine that an increased focus on authentic, sustainable PI-led mentorship programming that are implemented early on in a student's college journey would be affective in increasing their ability to matriculate from a 2-year institution to Westminster.

Running Header: PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Knowing them first, in order to serve them best: Exploring the Pacific Islander college experience at Utah's 2-year institutions of higher education by Quincey Malauulu Otuafi A thesis in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Arts in Community Leadership Westminster College Salt Lake City, Utah December 2018 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand the distinct experiences of Pacific Islander (PI) college students who have attended a 2-year institution of higher education in Utah to incorporate access and retention strategies for addressing this population at Westminster College. By way of individual interviews, the personal narratives of eight PI participants with the shared identity of attending either Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) or Snow College as a part- or full-time student were collected. Data on PI student populations, disaggregated from Asian American students, are sorely wanting and especially for those PI students at the community college level. Through individual and paired interviews, I was able to gain further insight to the experiences of PI community college students, identify voiced and implied needs, and ultimately propose a strategic method to increase the number of PI transfer students enrolling at Westminster. The incredibly strong focus on family roles, responsibilities, and relationships was a common theme amongst all of the eight participants and many of them also encountered the challenge of finding mobility amongst an increase in social capital. The data have led me to determine that an increased focus on authentic, sustainable PI-led mentorship programming that are implemented early on in a student's college journey would be affective in increasing their ability to matriculate from a 2-year institution to Westminster. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Dedication This project is dedicated to my uncle, Johnny Mose Malauulu, for always reminding me of my worth and for teaching me to never let circumstances determine my outcomes. Thank you for always giving your all to your family and friends. We miss you dearly. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Acknowledgements I have to thank my husband, Kepueli Mataitini Otuafi, for being everything. Not only did you support me through this research but you supported me through my first pregnancy and childbirth at the same time. When I say you are everything… You are absolutely everything, my love. To my son, Kepueli Johnny Tafilele Otuafi, thank you for being a guiding light in my life long before you were born. I did this for you, my dear. I would also like to thank my family and especially my parents for supporting me through all my educational endeavors despite the challenges that arose. Thank you to my MACL cohort who, with me, faced and overcame many hurdles but also regularly encouraged and inspired me. I cannot thank Anneliese Cannon and Jamie Joanou enough for helping me through such a crazy time in my life, being patient with my progress and guiding me to further develop myself as a researcher and writer. Finally, thank you to my Pacific Islander participants for being real and authentic throughout this process. I know it's not always easy to be vulnerable, but it is my true hope that your vulnerability will create change for future populations of Pacific Islanders who seek a higher education. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Table of Contents Chapter I: Topic and Purpose ............................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Purpose.................................................................................................................................4 Significance ..........................................................................................................................4 Root Causes ..........................................................................................................................5 Research Questions ...............................................................................................................6 Community Organization ......................................................................................................7 Chapter II: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 9 Introduction ..........................................................................................................................9 Pacific Islanders in Academia ................................................................................................9 Aggregate Data Dilemma ............................................................................................ 11 The Model Minority Myth ........................................................................................... 13 Pacific Islander Community College Students ...................................................................... 15 Critical Race Theory ................................................................................................... 18 Social and Cultural Capital .......................................................................................... 20 Familism as Cultural Capita l ............................................................................ 22 Access and Retention .......................................................................................................... 23 Moving Forward: Creating a platform for the PI student voice .............................................. 26 Chapter III: Research Methods........................................................................................... 28 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 28 Research Context ................................................................................................................ 28 Participants ......................................................................................................................... 29 Outreach and Recruitment ................................................................................................... 30 Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 30 Data Collection................................................................................................................... 31 Interviews ................................................................................................................... 31 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 32 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................ 32 Subjectivity and Positionality...................................................................................... 34 Validity...................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter IV: Findings and Analysis ..................................................................................... 36 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 36 Pacific Islander and Familism.............................................................................................. 36 Part One: Roles, titles, and boundaries in the family ..................................................... 37 Fitu's Story: Role of a Tongan "Fahu" .............................................................. 38 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Intergenerational Families: Raised in the Islands ............................................... 41 Part Two: Commitment to Family ................................................................................ 45 Financial Obligations ....................................................................................... 45 Staying Close to Home ..................................................................................... 47 Mobilization of Social Capital ............................................................................................ 51 Family Social Capital & Social Support ...................................................................... 54 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 56 Chapter V: Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 58 Implications ........................................................................................................................ 58 Recommendations............................................................................................................... 59 Growing the family to include Westminster College ..................................................... 59 Early Mentorship......................................................................................................... 60 Never Lose Sight of the Family ................................................................................... 62 Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 63 Future Research .................................................................................................................. 63 Learning Objectives ............................................................................................................ 64 Personal Reflection ............................................................................................................. 65 References.......................................................................................................................... 66 Appendix A ........................................................................................................................ 77 Appendix B ........................................................................................................................ 78 Appendix C ........................................................................................................................ 79 Appendix D ........................................................................................................................ 80 Appendix E......................................................................................................................... 81 IRB Approval ..................................................................................................................... 82 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 1 Chapter I: Topic and Purpose Introduction As a Pacific Islander woman who began her educational career at a community college, I had various encounters throughout my years as an undergraduate where I simply wished that I had more support. In high school, I remember feeling pressure to go to college from family members and close friends in my Pacific Islander and church communities, but most of the people encouraging me to attend college hadn't actually attended college themselves. After my high school graduation, the process to get into the local community college seemed simple-all you had to do was pay the $35 application fee and voila-you're in! In the quick online orientation I participated in, I learned how to register for classes on my own and use program planning webpages to figure out what classes I needed to take in order to one day transfer. Even with this information, I had no idea where to begin when choosing classes because I didn't know what I wanted to major in and wasn't sure where to begin searching. My first semester I ended up taking a slew of random classes that apparently counted toward the core curriculum that I needed to complete, but when I asked my Pacific Islander peers how to get help, they all seemed to be in the same boat of confusion that I was in. I lacked support and resources at school. When I finally figured out who I needed to speak with, I met with a counselor to talk about my course schedule and to seek help with choosing the right major. The meeting was short, ended abruptly, and had me feeling like I was led into specific areas of study that I really didn't have much interest in. When I mentioned that I enjoyed philosophy, they encouraged me to consider communications because it was easier and would result in better pay. Then, when I explained my passion for music, they told me that music PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 2 programs were very competitive and that I might be better off studying something more practical, such as business management. Despite these barriers and more, I was eventually able to transfer to a 4-year public university in Utah. It's safe to say, however, that I didn't truly understand the magnitude of outof-state tuition costs, culture shock, commuter-campuses, and so much more that I would soon encounter. Although I was diligent in seeking resources to make this transition smooth, I ran into many unexpected hurdles and in the end, it wasn't smooth at all. Fortunately, my perseverance prevailed and I was able to complete the requirements to graduate with my bachelor's degree. When the time came for the commencement ceremony, I realized that I didn't see many of my Pacific Islander peers that I had shared classes with and who I thought were expected to graduate alongside me. This was especially shocking because I had received an email only shortly before commencement that broke down the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) population of graduates, which I recall being something in the range of 10% (quite a surprise to me). Nonetheless, as I looked around the large, crowded stadium, I only managed to identify a handful of Pacific Islander graduates. To this day, I still remember the feeling of pride followed by immediate remorse as I walked across the stage, wishing I could have shared it with more of my Pacific Islander brothers and sisters. As a result, my personal experiences have driven my passion to better understand the PI experience in higher education. In the world of academia, Pacific Islanders have historically been categorized with Asian Americans who often have very different aspirations, levels of attainment, and societal expectations (Uehara et. al., 2017). This aggregated data collection process has stifled the voices of Pacific Islander students at all levels in higher education and has created a gap in research that explores the experiences and challenges that they face. In addition, stereotypes that stem from PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 3 data aggregation affect the ways that college staff and faculty interact with PI students. As I observed in my own experiences, academic and social support structures are frequently unprepared to address the needs of Pacific Islander students. Culturally, Pacific Islanders engage in collective communities and have strong values of family, respect, and responsibility (Cuthill & Scull, 2011). On the other hand, the United States has a history of deculturalization and has embedded individualism into its education systems (Spring, 2006). As a result of the cultural dissonance that exists between PI students and institutions of higher education, PIs commonly end up as an undertone of larger conversations regarding access and retention. Without intentional recognition, PIs often fall under the umbrella term of ‘minority students'. My research suggests that deliberately isolating PI student needs based on their experiences and encounters at Utah's 2-year colleges, when applied to campus-wide diversity initiatives and student resources, can increase the number of PIs who attend Westminster College. Beheruz N. Sethna (2011) argues that "different ethnic groups need [specific] support and assistance to succeed at different stages of the academic pipeline" (p.1). The research I have conducted explores Pacific Islander (PI) students at the stage in the academic pipeline of transferring from a 2-year community college to a 4-year degree offering institution. With clear specifications, distinctions can be made as to the role that the Pacific Islander identity plays in the experiences of community college students. Furthermore, given the high population of PIs in the state of Utah, the limited number of community colleges in the state, and the capacity that Westminster College has to offer in implementing a sustainable access and retention program, my research focused on how the experiences of PI students at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and Snow College (Utah's only 2-year institutions of higher education) can inform access and retention strategies at Westminster College. Westminster College is the ideal PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 4 institution to focus on because they are a small, private liberal arts, teaching college that has a total undergraduate student body of about 2100. Due to its size, low student to faculty ratio, and commitment to putting their students first, Westminster College offers promising faculty and staff support in changing the campus culture involving diversity and inclusion. Purpose This research brings to light the unique needs that Pacific Islander students have at the community college level. By so doing, the collected data support access and retention programs at Westminster College within the target population of PI transfer students from SLCC and Snow College. The Pacific Islander population continues to grow rapidly in the state of Utah, and especially in Salt Lake and Utah counties (U.S. Census, 2010). Westminster College prides itself on the personalized educational experiences that it offers its students. In September, Westminster College released its first-ever diversity statement which emphasized that "Westminster acknowledges and engages with the values, experiences, worldviews, and intersectional identities and characteristics of all members of our campus community" (Westminster, 2017). Over the past couple of years, Westminster has made many strides in their effort to cultivate a campus culture of diversity and inclusion by hiring individuals such as Dr. Marco Barker as Chief Diversity Officer and Daniel Cairo as director of the Diversity and Inclusion Center. My research suggests ways that Westminster College can continue to achieve inclusive excellence (as they describe it) by exploring the ways by which Pacific Islander transfer students engage with their educational values. Significance Data concerning PIs, independent of Asian Americans, are sparse and sorely wanting- especially in the context of community college. Disaggregate data is important because of the PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 5 stark differences between higher education outcomes of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. For example, out of all the ethnic groups that are considered PI (Native Hawaiian, Fijian, Samoan, Tongan, among others), no more than 15% of any one group that pursues a higher education actually obtains a 4-year bachelor's degree (Museus, 2009). On the other hand, Asian American groups with backgrounds from China, Taiwan, and Bangladesh have no less than 54% bachelor degree attainment (Museus, 2009). When these groups are combined, Pacific Islanders are overshadowed as the minority and resources for attainment and retention are frequently overlooked for this population. Utah is a unique state where the Rocky Mountains meet a wide variety of individuals from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Among these groups, Pacific Islanders (PIs) have found their way to many central areas in Utah including Salt Lake, Utah and Washington counties. According to the 2010 US Census, Utah holds the highest per capita population of Pacific Islanders, approximating a total of over 50,000 throughout the state. Of traditional firstyear students, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) had the largest number of PI students enrolled on their campuses in Utah and had a total count of 379 students enrolled directly out of high school in 2016 (Utah System of Higher Education). In the same year, Westminster College had a miniscule 6 students enrolled on their campus (3 undergraduate and 3 graduate) and none of them were transfer students. This research is unique and original because of its focus on Pacific Islanders in Utah; most of the current publications related to this topic have taken place in California, Hawai'i, or abroad. Root Causes The current lack of disaggregate data and information on the Pacific Islander population in higher education is a result of a long history of Eurocentrism and racism embedded in our PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 6 society and education system. Both Eurocentrism and racism draw attention to the inequalities found in the social hierarchy of our modern society. Eurocentrism is the notion that European cultures are superior to others and positions opposing cultures, values, or beliefs as subordinate (Shohat & Stam, 2014). Furthermore, racism stratifies phenotypical and ethnic or cultural features within societal norms where power is held by Eurocentric and white supremacists (Figueroa Helland & Lindgren, 2015). In seeking to understand the Pacific Islander college student perspective, it is important to recognize the role that these paradigms have played in their experiences. For many years, enhancing cultural diversity in higher education in the U.S. has been focused on increasing an institutions number of students and faculty of color by way of recruitment and retention strategies (Carter & Wilson, 1994). Therefore, cultural diversification has been measured based on the racial characteristics of students and faculty and not based off of the diversification of the philosophical foundation of the institution (Schiele, 1994). Schiele (1994) explains further that "society's institutions of higher education reflect the predominant values found in that society" (p.150). As a result, if the U.S. is Eurocentric in nature, then higher education philosophy is rooted in Eurocentric and dominant cultural values. Minority racial, ethnic, and cultural groups automatically receive implicit and explicit disadvantages while the dominant culture maintains the power to further distribute power through a cycle of social and cultural reproduction (Bourdieu, 2006). This root cause affects the way that we view and value minority ethnic groups on a broader, national and global, perspective. In this study, social capital theory and Critical Race Theory serve as theoretical frames to help us conceptualize the root cause of Eurocentrism in higher education that affects the PI student experience. Research Questions PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 7 To keep this research focused, a few specific research questions guided it. Experiential inquiry and identity are key components of both Critical Race Theory and social capital and therefore were embedded in these questions: How can the experiences of Pacific Islanders at SLCC and Snow College inform access and retention programs at Westminster College? In what ways is the Pacific Islander student experience unique? Ultimately, these research questions directed my inquiry on identifying opportunities to improve access and retention programming at Westminster College. In order to benefit this community organization, I have drawn conclusions from the data I collected through a series of recommendations on ways to alter the overall campus culture at Westminster to be more inclusive for PI students and also methods of engaging PI students in intentional retention programming. Community Organization Working with direction from Anneliese Cannon, current faculty member at Westminster College, my goal is to unveil critical information regarding the Pacific Islander transfer experience to inform the SLCC Pipeline Proposal. My research will help the SLCC Pipeline increase the population of Pacific Islanders they see through the program and help expand the pipeline, and Westminster as a whole, to encompass a larger profile of students through intentional programming and practices. The Pipeline Proposal is a transfer success program geared at serving first-generation, low income, and historically underrepresented students as they transition from SLCC to Westminster. Although the Pipeline Proposal is intended to aid students who attend SLCC, I have also explored students who have attended Snow College. The reason I have done this is because Snow College is the only other two-year college in the state of Utah and could be an opportunity for growth for Westminster. Based on the data, PI students at either institution have very similar experiences and the same strong family values that are important PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE components to help mold the Pipeline Proposal and influence a positive change in campus culture toward inclusive excellence. 8 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 9 Chapter II: Literature Review Introduction This chapter offers an overview of the current research available on the topic of Pacific Islanders in higher education and in the context of Pacific Islanders at the community college level, specifically. There were several common themes that were present throughout the literature, but one that especially stood out was recognition of the large gap that exists for Pacific Islander research on nearly all academic platforms. A majority of the literature regarding Pacific Islanders is embedded in aggregate data and presents a barrier in locating scholarly work that addresses Pacific Islanders exclusively-that is, independent of data including Asian Americans. As a result, I pull from a combination of data on Pacific Islanders as well as the more broadly defined group of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In addition, some of the themes regarding barriers to college access and college attainment are paralleled with other underrepresented communities and because of the gap in literature I draw from these similar communities. This review of the literature supports my research in determining how the experiences of Pacific Islanders at 2-year colleges in Utah can inform access and retention programs at Westminster College. Pacific Islanders in Academia Pacific Islander students are a population in higher education that have only recently been explored beginning in the late 1980s, although research on Pacific Islanders within broader ethnic categorizations has been present for multiple decades (Uehara, Chugen, & Staley Raatior, 2017). Current discourse about Pacific Islanders attending college is often focused on students attending 4-year colleges and universities directly out of high school (often referred to as traditional students) and is also frequently linked with the Asian American population; together, PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 10 these two ethnic groups are commonly referred to as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI). In the United States, there are about 309 million AAPIs and they have been deemed the fastest growing population by race/ethnicity (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). AAPIs are also one of the fastest growing populations in college enrollment, with anticipation to increase enrollment numbers for AAPIs across the U.S. by 30% between 2009 and 2019 (U.S. Department of Education, 2007). The majority population in the United States is shifting and a glance at the AAPI population growth over the past three decades supports that claim. As a result, the higher education system and institutions of higher education need to prepare to address the needs of this growing population (Rankin, Katsinas, & Hardy, 2011). Advocates for policy change recognize the poor pipeline to higher education that is currently in place for AAPI students and stress how essential it is to understand the complexities of this population, especially the intricacies of the subgroups within, before we attempt to address their needs (Teranishi, 2010). The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE; 2010) emphasize the necessity of understanding the range of higher education institutions that AAPIs attend and how different types of institutions shape the challenges that each student faces. In the 2000-2001 academic year, AAPIs made up 15% of the total student population enrolled at two-year institutions across the U.S. (Harvey, 2003). Later in 2005, CARE (2008) discovered that 47.3% of all AAPIs enrolled in college were attending in the community college sector-by far the largest sector. Commonly shared motivations including lower tuition, open enrollment admissions, and easy-to-access campus locations are some of the important factors that steer AAPIs to community colleges (Teranishi, 2012). Again, while research does exist on AAPIs within higher education, it is generally focused on traditional students at 4-year institutions. A study at the University of Hawaii at Hilo PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 11 (UH Hilo) recruited over 90 of their Pacific Islander students to participate in a series of focus groups and interviews with the purpose of understanding the insights about cultural variables that impact PI student success. Participants shared overlapping experiences that evolved around common themes such as culture, identity, and barriers to retention and graduation (Uehara, Chugen, & Staley Raatior, 2017). Most of the student participants were native islanders and identified some of their major cultural values as respect for others (particularly elders), community and family responsibilities, and social identity and peer groups. Among these themes, common barriers ascribed to minority groups and community college students such as affordability or first-generation student status were not mentioned at all (Laden, 2004; Merisotis & McCarthy, 2005; Uehara, Chugen, & Staley Raatior, 2017). Of the few published studies on AAPIs in higher education, there were two major themes present: the focus on Asian Americans over Pacific Islanders and an emphasis on traditional students. In the case of the research conducted at UH Hilo, the primary focus was on Pacific Islanders-separate from Asian Americans, even though the majority of the participants were traditional students. There is a gap in qualitative data conducted among Pacific Islander students at the community college level to determine the distinctions of how the identity and intersectionality of these students affect their college experiences and outcomes. Aggregate Data Dilemma For decades, Pacific Islanders have been misclassified into the overarching panethnic group of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI). In recent years, there has been increased advocacy pushing to advance disaggregated data among these two distinct populations. According to the US Census Bureau, those classified as "Asian" can originate from 25 different Asian groups including Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. Pacific Islanders, although spanned PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 12 across a much smaller geographical region, consist of 24 groupings from various islands in Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia (Grieco, 2001; Lew, Chang, & Wang, 2005). From this measurement, AAPIs collectively come from nearly 50 different origin groups, most of which have different languages, gender roles, and politics embedded in their cultures. Many researchers agree that there are clear distinctions between each subgroup, but especially between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders based on cultural practices, histories, and religions, among other features (Orsuwan & Cole, 2007; Uehara, Chugen, & Staley Raatior, 2017). A closer look at the differences between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders present major gaps in demographic data. For example, Asian Indians (those whom have identified origins from the continent of India) earn up to $22,000 over the median household income of AAPIs, while Southeast Asians earn between $14,000 and $22,000 below the median (Teranishi, Lok & Nguyen, 2013). Often due to data collection convenience, this diverse population has been addressed as one singular group, even though the need for disaggregate data among AAPIs has been recognized since as early as 1980 (Nguyen, Nguyen, & Nguyen, 2014). While there have been advances in data disaggregation since 2000, when the US Census Bureau decided to separate Asians and Pacific Islanders as two distinct ethnic groups, the research continues to be lacking on Pacific Islanders as an independent ethnic identity (Kauanui, 2008). In addition to the quantitative differences between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, there are also many societal perceptions and stereotypes that are quite different between the two groups. AAPI students are labeled everything from "smart and hardworking Asians" to "illiterate refugees draining the community's resources", and even "lazy and incapable Pacific Islanders" (Lee & Kumashiro, 2005). With such a wide range of perceptions for this group, how can anyone expect to combat these various misleading stereotypes when the PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 13 current discourse tells them that this is only one homogeneous group? In practice, we are not providing individualized assistance for subgroups of AAPI students; the needs of AAPIs are presently being addressed based upon the limited existing data which enforce these stereotypes and further marginalizes both Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Poon et al, 2016; Teranishi, 2010). The Model Minority Myth One common assumption about AAPI students is called the Model Minority Myth (MMM). The MMM is a racial stereotype that defines AAPIs as an undiversified racial group who do not endure the same hardships as other racial minorities due to their hard work and high achievements (Osajima, 2000). This stereotype is especially predominant among AAPIs within the arena of education, although many argue that the MMM applies more directly toward Asians on a broader spectrum and almost not at all to Pacific Islanders (Osajima, 2000). Poon et al. (2016) explain that, "the crafting of the model minority terminology in the 1960s was directly tied to the racialized experiences of Asian Americans, but not Pacific Islanders" (p. 471). With the MMM, Asian Americans are often implicitly labeled as honorary Whites due to the additional privilege they gain by performing well to the expectations of the dominant, or generally White, culture in the United States (Zhou, 2004). Aggregate data prescribe Pacific Islanders to this Model Minority Myth, although the research displays that Pacific Islander attainment in higher education is highly disproportionate to that of Asian Americans (see Figure 2.0). Figure 2.0 - Bachelor's Degree Attainment Among Asian Americans by Ethnicity PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 14 Data source: Public Use Microdata Sample (2007-2009) The MMM detracts attention from racial inequities that AAPI students face and suggests that these students are able to transcend racial barriers due to their ability to perform to the social standards in the United States (Lee & Kumashiro, 2005). This has become a problem for not only AAPI communities, but also for larger communities of color. Many who have accepted the MMM have used it to set an example of AAPIs against other communities of color and have framed the conversation in a way that encourages other racial and ethnic minorities to simply overcome racial barriers, like AAPIs do. Chung Allred (2007), in their evaluation of the Model PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 15 Minority Myth and Affirmative Action in college admissions processes, describe Asian Americans as "racial mascots" in relation to other racial minority groups and especially African Americans. At a glance, the MMM may appear to be a positive thing for AAPIs because they are viewed in a positive light, however, a closer look at this stereotype unveils how the MMM affects the relationships and expectations that educators have with their AAPI students to the disadvantage of most-either academically or socially, and often both (Lee & Kumashiro, 2005; Poon et. al, 2016). Another major issue that the Model Minority Myth creates is neglect to significant differences related to ethnicity, social class, immigration status, gender, generation and more. There are other criteria to examine in the Pacific Islander higher education experience, aside from country origin and the associated culture and practices; consideration should be given to factors such as socioeconomic status, immigration status, first-generation student status, among others (Teranishi, Behringer, Grey, & Parker, 2009). Lindsay Perez Huber (2010) further explains why these considerations should made as she defines Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education as "…the ability to examine how multiple forms of oppression can intersect within the lives of People of Color and how those intersections manifest in our daily experiences to mediate our education" (p.77). Critically underrecognized, the intersections of identity and experiences among Pacific Islander students is sorely lacking-especially regarding their experiences in higher education. As a result of this gap in data, much of the research I reference in this study is aggregated, however, whenever possible, will address exclusively Pacific Islanders as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau of having origins from Melanesia, Micronesia, or Polynesia. Pacific Islander Community College Students PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 16 There are many differences between AAPI community college students and their counterparts at four-year institutions based on the number of credits they enroll in, the average age of students, English proficiency, and academic preparation (Chang et al., 2007; Teranishi, 2010; U.S. Department of Education, 2007). Seidman (1993) asserts that we must employ different retention strategies and measurements of success at community colleges because of the unique mission and student population that they have in comparison to four-year institutions. Although the research is limited, scholars are beginning to recognize the growing population of Pacific Islander community college students and bring attention to the unique identities and experiences they have. Frankie S. Laanan and Soko S. Starobin (2004) found that there are twenty-three community colleges in the United States that have 25% or more AAPI students and they are all located in either Hawaii or California. These schools would be considered Asian American and Pacific Islander serving institutions (AAPISIs) according to H.R. 333 which states that the main requirements to be considered a AAPISI is a 10% AAPI student population and at least 50% of an institutions total study body to be eligible for need-based financial assistance. These two particular states have overall high populations of AAPIs and are also generally known for diversity and inclusion efforts made in higher education (Laanan & Starobin, 2004). Most of the current literature includes studies that are evaluated on an institutional or state level, with very few sources that look to assess the population needs on a national scale. This, in part, is due to the volume of data collection required along with the difficulty of conducting new studies to examine Pacific Islanders as a group independent of Asian Americans. Lew, Chang, and Wang (2005) add that "demographic and characteristics of [AAPI] students at community colleges are likely to vary from one institution to another, depending on the demographics of surrounding ethnic communities" (p.68). While bringing attention to the Pacific PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 17 Islander population across all institutions of higher education in the U.S. is the ultimate goal, affecting long-term sustainable change is best achieved when recognizing specific needs of institutions and the demographic to which they serve (Fadeeva & Mochizuki, 2010). In Orange County, California at Rancho Santiago Community College (RSCC), a sample of 168 AAPI student volunteers (of the total AAPI population of 4,534) participated in a qualitative study of why they chose RSCC and the experiences they had as students (Pham & Dykstra, 1996). The majority of the AAPI students at RSCC were found to be immigrants and 72% of them had only been living in the U.S. for less than 5 years. Pham and Dykstra (1996) also discovered that most of the students chose to attend RSCC because of recommendations made by friends and family and because it was the most affordable option. AAPI immigrant students are less likely to have the necessary social capital, or network of relationships within a society, than those native-born in the U.S. when it comes to navigating the U.S. higher education system; they also often face academic challenges because of language barriers (Lew, Chang & Wang, 2005). From this research, Pham and Dykstra (1996) recommended adding more Asian language and ethnic studies courses as well as offering new student orientation in more language options. Although the research by Pham and Dykstra exemplifies why the context of an institution, such as the local demographics, is an important consideration, there are still gaps that remain in their work. A closer look at the details of participants and their responses to interview questions revealed that many of them identified themselves as being Asian or specifically Vietnamese, while no distinctions of participants being Pacific Islander were made. It is possible that this research used the overarching ethnic categorization of AAPI to describe a population that may have been better described as Asian. Additionally, the focus on the needs of AAPI PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 18 immigrant students did not seem to connect back to the participants' identity as Asian American or Pacific Islander other than to identify the students' native languages. Otherwise, there was no indication that the recommended solutions addressed anything specific to AAPI students. Critical Race Theory Critical Race Theory (CRT), put simply, is the idea that racism is woven into the very fabric of American culture-it is normal, and therefore acceptable in American society (Delgado, 1995). Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) explains that, "our notions of race (and its use) are so complex that even when it fails to "make sense" we continue to employ and deploy it" (p.9). While race, in many spheres, is considered a biological concept determined by the level of melanin in a person's skin, it is also a social construct that continues to persist through continual phases of reconstruction over time (Andreasen, 2000; Pierce, 2014). This social construct of race can actually be reduced down to two categories or measurement--these measures are black and white (Ladson-Billing, 1998; King, 1995). The parameters of stratification are commonly referred to as ‘whiteness' or, in contrast, ‘blackness' where ones' whiteness is attached to white supremacy and inherent white privilege that stems from a long history of Whites controlling the dominant, Eurocentric culture (Lawrence, 2008, Lipsitz, 2006). In contrast, blackness is virtually synonymous with the history of oppression for people of color (King, 1995). When exposing Eurocentrism as a root cause of the low access and retention for PI students in higher education, CRT helps us conceptualize why this is because of the direct link between the dominant (superior) culture and the social construct of the white race. An important component of CRT is the use of storytelling and experiential knowledge to explore and validate shared experiences of oppressed populations (Barnes, 1990; Delgado, 1995; Lawrence, 2008). According to Ladson-Billings (1998), "stories provide the necessary context PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 19 for understanding, feeling, and interpreting" (p. 15). Unfortunately, this method is not employed in many academic spheres and especially not in the literature of law and litigation (Lawrence, 2008). Traditional legal scholarship is often embedded in universalism and does not account for contextual framing and information. Delgado (1995) argues that stories and storytelling are particularly important to recognize in academia for three distinct reasons-one of which is that similar to race, reality is also a social construct. Stories can be used to counter dominant and White narratives about people of color and oppressed populations overall. The research I've conducted is based on stories and experiential knowledge from an underrepresented population and minority ethnic group. Additionally, CRT framing works well when looking at Pacific Islander populations because they are known to share information and history by way of storytelling-it is a valued form of communication within their culture (Berg, Lai, & Hawaii Univ., 2000; Cuthill & Scull, 2011). With a different value set than that of the dominant culture, PIs are exemplary of having social capital that does not necessarily align with the types of capital needed to succeed within the higher education system. Ultimately, we do not have agency over where we fall on the social hierarchy in our society that is so deeply rooted in race and racism. Critical Race Theory does, however, allow us to acknowledge the direct and indirect forms of racism that exist today and help us gain a better understanding of it through a dynamic and non-traditional lens. Furthermore, it is important to recognize that racialized social stratification exists on every level in our society and is not happening in a vacuum. Delgado (1995) acknowledges the role of CRT in the racial stratification that occurs in higher education; dominant culture and dominant paradigms place the experiences of students of color out of context-it does not account for the broader social, institutional, or historical context that CRT brings to light. When dealing with the experiences of Pacific PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 20 Islanders in community college, historical and institutional context is extremely important and relevant in understanding the oppression that they face as students of color in a society and institutional system built on dominant, White values. Social and Cultural Capital Capital is "accumulated labor which, when appropriated on a private, i.e., exclusive, basis by agents, enables them to appropriate social energy in the form of reified or living labor" (Szeman & Kaposy, 2011, p. 81). By this definition, capital can be obtained in different forms such as economic (one of the most commonly associated and tangible forms), cultural, and social. This research focuses on the cultural and social capital of Pacific Islanders at two-year colleges where social capital is viewed as the "resources embedded in one's social networks . . . that can be accessed or mobilized through ties in the networks" (Lin, 2008, p. 5). In many ways, social capital is embodied by who you know and what they know, or what they have access to- which, in turn, allows you access to that capital as well. However, access to social capital is different than mobilization of social capital; access refers to the potential sources of social capital within one's social networks and mobilization is the actual usage of those social ties (Ashtiani & Feliciano, 2018). Cultural capital is also an important form of capital to understand when examining the data from this research. According to Bourdieu (1986), cultural capital exists in two primary states-the embodied state and the objectified state where the embodied state exists in the form of bodily dispositions that develop over time and the objectified state exists in the form of tangible items that are appropriated symbolically in relation to the embodied state. Here, cultural capital, in its embodied state, is expressed through the lived experiences of the student participants and their disposition to college processes and resources. For example, Valu, one of PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 21 the study participants, was raised for many years in the islands of Tonga and upon returning to the United States expressed his confusion with how his elementary school used bells to notify students: When I first came from Tonga I was eight or nine years old and playing outside with the other kids was the only part of the day that made sense to me [because I didn't speak English]. After lunch on my first day of school I remember playing on the playground and then a bell rang and everyone ran. The only time I ever heard any bells like that is when we had a storm warning back home [in Tonga]. So when everyone ran, lined up, and we just went back to class. I was so worried about why the bell rang for the rest of the day until I realized no one else was worried. Valu's disposition to bells ringing is based on his extended time living in Tonga and the cultural use of bells as an alarm for storms, not as an indicator to line up to return to classes. The linguistic and cultural competence that Valu possessed from his lived experiences in Tonga did not align with the dominant cultural practices in his U.S. elementary school. Higher education processes, at all phases, can be difficult to navigate depending on the level and forms of social and cultural capital one has. With that being said, similar to the different states of cultural capital, there are also different forms of social capital that can be accessed to help individuals navigate education systems. There is community social capital that can be accessed within local communities and neighborhoods by participating in community service groups or organized religious activities, for example (Ashtiani & Feliciano, 2018). When a student engages with their community, they are exposing themselves to the resources and support systems that can aid educational attainment. Additionally, there is school social capital which is social capital that is gained within the school setting such as bonding with teachers and PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 22 participating in extracurricular activities (Ashtiani & Feliciano, 2018). While both community and school social capital are important to the accumulation of social capital that encourages and supports academic achievement and school level attainment, the one that seems to make the biggest impact is family social capital-that is, social capital gained from one's family network such as parents' level of education or parent involvement in adolescent schooling (Lareau, 1987). These examples of family social capital do not directly relate to college completion, but when parents have access to resource-rich networks (such as old college buddies who work in higher education or fellow parents who already have children in college) from having received a college education, it can help students better navigate college processes. Not to be confused with family social support which typically focuses on the encouragement and care received from familial social networks (Hill, Bregman, & Andrade, 2015), family social capital is centered around the shared information that commonly occurs in the form of parent-child relationships (Coleman, 1988). Familism as Cultural Capital. The social and theoretical notion of a family unit plays a major role in how cultural and social capital is obtained and developed from one generation to the next; this can be compared to the way that educational systems reproduce the ways that cultural capital is distributed amongst social classes (Bourdieu, 2006). The family unit and educational systems are both social structures that shape one's ability to obtain and mobilize social and cultural capital. The two interact in very different ways depending on what social class (and the level of social and cultural wealth associated with that particular social class) an individual has inherited and whether or not that social class is part of the dominant culture that prescribes universal meaning and worth within educational systems or, in this case, institutions of higher education. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 23 The notion of family centrality regarding support, obligations, and decision-making, among other traits, is called familism (Hernández & Bámaca‐Colbert, 2016; Mendez‐Luck et al., 2016; Sabogal et al., 1987). Familism, in the context of this research, is a form of cultural capital that opposes the dominant paradigm of individualism that is implicit among higher education pedagogy, processes, and practices (Mendez‐Luck et al., 2016). Access and Retention Overall, the purpose of this research is to improve access and retention programs at Westminster College by providing insight to the needs and motivations of PI students attending Salt Lake Community College or Snow College. Thus far, the gap in literature further enhances the need to look at disaggregated data on PI students and especially to explore the realm of community colleges for this population. Due to the nature of this inquiry, it is important to define what I mean by access and retention programs. Traditionally, access in higher education is framed to support first-generation and low-income students seeking a post-secondary education directly after high school. The idea is to make college a viable option for students who either can't afford it or don't comprehend the value behind a continued education after high school (Bourdieu & Passerson, 1990). The nature of community colleges allows increased accessibility through open enrollment admissions processes, convenient campus locations, and financial affordability (Ratcliff, 1994). Retention is often coupled with conversations about college access; access programs work to get students in the door of colleges and retention programs apply methods to keep them in college or otherwise prevent attrition before they complete their intended degree program (Berger & Lyon, 2005). The research I have conducted looks at both access and retention to understand why PI students from SLCC and Snow would choose Westminster College and the barriers that they have faced thus far in their college experience. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 24 Studies conducted with students of color and other minority groups have revealed a few commonalities about how social capital were effectively being transmitted within the institutions they attended. The first major finding was that staff and faculty who shared common ground with their students were able to more successfully provide students with access to social capital to succeed in college (Hill, Bregman, & Andrade, 2015; Museus & Neville, 2012). Another theme was that staff and faculty humanized the educational experience and students "perceived [them] as human beings who cared about and were committed to their success" (Hill, Bregman, & Andrade, 2015, p. 201). Capital gained in higher education settings are often determined by the staff/faculty-to-student relationship and the level of trust within it, along with the breadth of their networks and resources that they can provide their students (Bourdieu, 1986; Hill, Bregman, & Andrade, 2015; Museus & Neville, 2012). Data focused on PI students at this particular phase in the higher education pipeline (community colleges) to form or transform access and retention programs is absent in academia. While there is a large quantity of data available on the subject of access and retention programming, they are historically focused on two theoretical categories. The first is from a perspective that students are not prepared for the rigors of college level coursework and in response, remedial courses and tutoring programs are often created to fill the education or achievement gap (Craig & Ward, 2007; Kulik, Kulik, & Schwalb, 1983; Rankin, Katsinas, & Hardy, 2011; Roueche & Roueche, 1999). The second theory focuses on a lack of resources from the side of higher education institutions for specific student populations; efforts to meet the needs of these underserved students commonly include increased financial aid, academic counseling, and other forms of student support (Kulik, Kulik, & Schwalb, 1983). Unfortunately, underserved students are often generalized into one group, similar to the ethnic categorization of AAPIs, PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 25 although these students come from a wide variety of backgrounds and consequently have a diverse set of academic and social needs as well. Additionally, these traditional theories are framed almost entirely from an academic perspective, when there are other, less academic, reasons that students do not remain in college (Rankin, Katsinas, & Hardy, 2011). One, less academic, factor is based on an individual's value set. The college value system is in sync with dominant narratives and values which are centered in individualism and racism. As a result, those who hold differing values tend to struggle in a system that, by design, is not made for them (Bourdieu & Passerson, 1990). Others assert that financial barriers stretch beyond simply being able to afford to attend college or not-there are opportunity costs and other social aspects to consider. For one, first-generation students do not necessarily understand the value of higher education in American society other than by statistics shared in schools that illustrate the return on investment (Serna & Woulfe, 2017). Unfortunately, the sharing of statistics does not directly translate to increased access and retention. Another factor for some students involves family and cultural responsibilities where students are forced to choose between meeting the immediate financial needs for themselves and their families or waiting for the delayed gratification that comes by way of college degree completion (Goncalves & Trunk, 2014). These are only a few of the issues that underserved student populations face depending on their circumstances. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a student is considered at-risk of attrition when they identify with one or more of the following criteria: they are financially independent, attend school part-time, work full-time, delay enrollment after high school, they have dependents, are a single parent or they do not possess a high school diploma. Again, by design, community colleges are ideal for at-risk students and therefore at-risk students PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 26 are much more likely to attend a community college than a four-year institution (Coley, 2000). Each institution of higher education faces issues with retention and accordingly, develop strategies for retaining at-risk students. However, some research suggests that it is often one cause in particular that acts as a primary source at either helping or hindering retention efforts and collectively, the results are not consistent (Craig & Ward, 2007). Alexander Astin (1993) suggests that targeted research at the institutional level will determine key factors that promote retention efforts for that institution because of the dynamic and unique traits that each institution and their respective student population holds. Moving Forward: Creating a platform for the Pacific Islander student voice Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are two distinct groups with different perceptions and experiences in higher education. Using CRT and social and cultural capital theory to frame the experiences of Pacific Islander community college students exposes their distinct needs at different phases in their educational experience. With a growing population of Pacific Islanders attending community colleges and so little data available on understanding their needs and experiences, the need for the data I've collected is evident. Through recognition of stereotypes such as the Model Minority Myth and the use of theoretical frameworks such as Critical Race Theory and Social Reproduction throughout my research, I was able to use a collection of individual interviews to unveil authentic experiences of Pacific Islanders who are currently enrolled at Salt Lake Community College or Snow College. By using a specific type of higher education institution (2-year/community colleges), I was able to evaluate the context of the institutions and recognize the intricacies of the Pacific Islander demographic which they serve. In the chapters to follow, the findings of my research will inform my recommendations for PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Westminster Colleges access and retention programs for Pacific Islander students who seek to transfer to a 4-year institution from SLCC or Snow College. 27 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 28 Chapter III: Research Methods Introduction To gain insight to the Pacific Islander (PI) community college experience, I have interviewed eight PI students who attend or have recently attended a 2-year college in Utah (at either Salt Lake Community College or Snow College). The interviews provided data to address the primary research question identified in Chapter One: How can the experiences of Pacific Islanders at Utah's 2-year colleges inform access and retention programs at Westminster College? Research Context Salt Lake City is a perfect region to evaluate the Pacific Islander community college experience and to draw conclusions on how disaggregate data can inform retention rates through the transfer process (as students complete their time at a 2-year community college and continue their education at a 4-year institution). According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau report, there are over 38,000 Pacific Islanders residing in Utah, with about 85% of them living in either Salt Lake or Utah counties. Between the two counties, there is only one community college in the region with various different locations and that institution is Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). At SLCC, Pacific Islanders make up 1.3% of the student body, which is only about a third of the population of Asians seen on their campuses and not far off from the 2.0% population of African American student presence (SLCC at a Glance, 2015). Just outside of Utah County, in the small town of Ephraim (Sanpete County) is where the residential 2-year campus for Snow College is located. Similar to SLCC, Snow College has a small population of PI's although both institutions do offer some resources for their PI students such as SLCC's Pacific Unity Association and Snow's Poly Club that are essentially ethnic-based clubs. Westminster's PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 29 neighboring 4-year institution, the University of Utah, publicly reports on their website (and in other forums) that their Pacific Islander population sits at about 1%. Westminster College, on the other hand, does not have student demographics currently posted publicly on their website, but internal reports show 10 PI students on a campus of 2600 (less than 0.004% of the total student body including graduate programs). With Westminster's commitment to diversity and appreciation for differing values and experiences, further data regarding Pacific Islanders has unveiled opportunities to increase the population of PI students on their campus. Participants The research I have conducted required participants who identify as having familial origins from the Pacific Islands. Additionally, participants also needed to either be enrolled, or previously enrolled as a student at SLCC or Snow College (having been enrolled as a part-time or full-time student). Participants were selected primarily based off of these two criteria. Pacific Islander is defined as having family origins in the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Micronesia, or Polynesia. Some specific ethnic identities may include origins from Samoa, Tonga, Hawai'i, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Tahiti, among others. This study specifically excludes individuals who identify as Asian American as opposed to Pacific Islander to avoid aggregate data collection. Participants are either enrolled or had been enrolled in at least 6 credit hours at Salt Lake Community College or Snow College. The purpose behind only using students who are at least considered part-time is because of the limited involvement and engagement that students who are less than part-time may encounter. Students who were either part-time or full-time (12 credit hours) were the ideal participants. While age and gender are noted among participants to determine common themes that were presented, it was not a factor PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 30 for them to participate in this study. A variety of ages, genders, and sexual orientations were welcomed and appreciated among participants. Outreach and Recruitment My original intentions were to work with SLCC's Pacific Islander student organization called Pacific Unity Association (PUA) because according to their mission statement, PUA is an organization that seeks "to unite all Pacific Islanders attending SLCC, as well as invite and educate those who desire to learn about our [Pacific Islander] culture" (Pacific Unity Association, 2017, para. 1). PUA practices and shares cultural knowledge by way of song, dance, and storytelling to help them meet their fullest potential as students at SLCC. The plan was to attend a few of their meetings and handing out a promotional advertisement flyer (see Appendix D) however, scheduling conflicts arose which prevented that from happening. Fortunately, the Pacific Islander community is small and I was able to ask some PI friends of mine if they knew anyone who met the research criteria who attended SLCC and I was given three direct references. From those references, I received five more which also included students at Snow College. In addition to direct references, I also utilized my personal Pacific Islander networks by posting a promotional advertisement post on Facebook groups such as Utah Pacific Islander Civic Engagement Coalition (UPICEC) and Utah Pacific Island Heritage Month (see Appendix E). This did not yield any participants but did spark interest on this research topic. Limitations As previously mentioned, this study took place in Salt Lake City, Utah and it examined the experiences of students at the only 2-year institutions of higher education in the state. Unlike other regions where studies have been conducted, such as California, the number of community PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 31 colleges to explore are limited to only two different colleges and may present a common theme among participants. The cultural context of the region brought limitations based on the population therein-the experiences of participants were unique to the region based on the religious climate in the state because most of the participants were members of the dominant religion of the region, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Being part of the dominant, LDS religion, many of the participants were older in age because they had postponed their education to serve a church mission for 18-24 months in various regions of the world. Additionally, because all but one of the participants were baptized in the same church, they have very similar experiences, which is interesting and important to make note of within the context of this research. Nonetheless, the current lack of research on Pacific Islander community college students compliments the relevance of this inquiry to start the dialogue and expand our present understanding of this population. Data Collection The research I have conducted is qualitative, as I am interested in the stories and experiences of individuals with whom identify as Pacific Islander and also either currently attend or have previously attended in the last three years either Salt Lake Community College or Snow College. To collect the data, I utilized semi-structured individual interviews and there was no experimental elements in my study. During the individual interviews with participants, I audiorecorded the interviews with two digital recording devices (one as a back-up) and I wrote field notes during and immediately after each session. The location and time of individual interviews varied and were arranged for the participants' convenience. The comfort and convenience of the participants was critically important in order to get the most authentic responses. The individual interviews took approximately 60 minutes. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 32 Interviews I conducted 6 individual one-on-one interviews and 1 interview with two individuals (for a total of 8 research participants) in a semi-structured format to keep the conversations openended (Johnson, 2017). I recorded each session with permission from the participants to ensure their identities remain anonymous and I asked participants where they would feel most comfortable having their interviews. Four of the interviews took place at various SLCC campuses and the remaining four took place in my home based on their personal preferences. Data Analysis I personally transcribed the interviews after they were conducted. All transcriptions for any one interview was completed before beginning another interview to ensure that any field notes or observations coincide with the transcriptions while the information was fresh in my mind. Creating clear descriptions of interview observations was important for me to identify differentiations between actions based on behavior, culture, or gestures (Geertz, 1973). I recorded any reoccurring themes, or a lack thereof, to simplify the synthesis process and code responses using the a priori categories (Miles and Huberman, 1994) of attainment, access (nonfinancial), financial need, social resources, resource availability and availability, and cultural practices. I revised and refined these codes as data collection progressed, ensuring that the data determined the findings. Ethical Considerations Overall, there was minimal risk with this study. Time was an expense of the participants, but there was no physical risk involved with this study. Nonetheless, participants were asked to share their experiences and stories about their time in community college as well as their aspirations and understandings of accessing Westminster College. Negative and/or emotional PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 33 discomfort were risks that participants may have encountered but I was sensitive to this and informed them of emotional support resources that are offered at SLCC. I also offered my personal empathy and sympathy support whenever it was appropriate and possible. In addition, to soothe any further discomforts, I reaffirmed the importance of confidentiality and my commitment to making sure they were in a safe environment with only the best intentions. With over 700 PI students reported to attend SLCC and Snow currently, it would be extremely difficult to identify 8 individuals whose identities are anonymous. These risks were reasonable because the effects of this research should minimize negative or emotional discomfort in the future, should they attend Westminster College. Ryan, Coughlan, and Cronin (2009) explain that "the one-to-one interview is a social interaction, and the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee is of paramount importance in ensuring that the process is successful" (p. 311). From an ethical perspective, I was conscientious of my role in the interview as the interviewer and created boundaries for the participants. I did not want my position as a Pacific Islander who potentially holds many similar identities and experiences with the participants to interfere with the interviews. Because there are pockets of very tight-knit Pacific Islander communities and families that reside in Salt Lake City, I wanted to be sure that if I do have any shared communities that I recognized this promptly and made sure that clear explanations were made for the purposes of clean data. While these were important social interactions, I did not want to influence the responses of my participants and I wanted to enable them to express themselves in clear and concise ways without them assuming that I understood what they meant or knew what they were talking about because I may share some of the same identities as the participants. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 34 Any and all data collected do not have identifying markers of who the individual participants are. Instead of names, I refer to individuals using predetermined pseudonyms. The identity of each participant were assuredly concealed throughout the entire research and analysis process. All typed material was stored on a password-protected computer and on a passwordprotected OneDrive to provide backup in the event that the computer were lost, stolen, or damaged. Handwritten field notes, voice recorders, consent forms, and any participant information were kept in a lock box in my private home office. Subjectivity and Positionality Since I, the researcher, identify as Pacific Islander and I also had my own experiences and challenges in a community college setting, I was aware of my positionality in relation to the participants (Marshall, 2006). While I may share similar experiences to some of the participants and in some forms, could be considered an insider, I am also an outsider. From the perspective of my participants and in the context of this research, I was an academic conducting research-not a peer or colleague. Although I do share my Pacific Islander descent with the participants, I did not assume that I understood what they meant as they were describing their experiences based on ones I may have had. To ensure that I received authentic responses, I recognized the pieces of my own identity and experiences that make me both an insider and an outsider to the participants. In some ways, I am unsure if all of the responses I received were authentic because of my identity and positionality as a person who works in higher education and graduate student. Validity According to Creswell and Miller (2000), validity is the process by which "qualitative inquirers need to demonstrate that their studies are credible" (p. 124). Several methods and procedures have been identified for researchers to establish validity for their work. For this PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 35 research, researcher reflexivity (from the lens of the researcher) was an important methodology for me to employ. Researcher reflexivity is a procedure where I, the researcher, inform my participants of any of my personal biases, assumptions or beliefs that I have as they pertain to the purpose of my research (Creswell & Miller, 2000). To accomplish this, I answered the interview questions myself, prior to conducting interviews. As part of my introduction, I gave a brief overview of my college experience with the participants to help them understand where I was coming from with my realms of inquiry. Peer debriefing is another method that I used to validate my research. Patti Lather (1986) emphasizes that we must recognize that research is not neutral and that perspective and context are important components to consider. The use of peer debriefing was a good way to add perspective from others who have engaged with Pacific Islander populations in the context of higher education. These individuals challenged my assumptions but also provided support for my research as well. As experts, peer reviewers were utilized throughout my time conducting research so that they could understand the full context of this research as an external reviewer (Creswell & Miller, 2000). This method allowed me to gain credibility by using others to ‘double-check' my research because they familiar-ideally experts-in Pacific Islanders in higher education. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 36 Chapter IV: Findings Introduction The purpose of this study is to understand the distinct experiences of Pacific Islander (PI) college students who have attended a 2-year institution of higher education in Utah to incorporate access and retention strategies for addressing this population at Westminster College. By way of individual interviews, the personal narratives of eight PI participants with the shared identity of attending either Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) or Snow College as a part- or full-time student were collected. With a focus on the unique attributes of their PI culture and identity in the context of higher education, other components of their identity and culture also presented themselves. The following section outlines the findings which have been organized into two main themes: 1) the Pacific Islander family and 2) the effects of being first in family to attend college. The experiences and stories of the participants were very unique, but these two themes became a commonality that tied them all together. Pacific Islanders & Familism For the past 300 years (and counting), there has been a shift in the idea and structure of a traditional American family from having a strong sense of self that derived from family relationships-to now, where an individual stands on their own merits and family is secondary (Mintz & Kellogg, 1989). Unlike this individualistic trend in American families, Pacific Islanders practice a very collectivist culture with a strong sense of responsibility to the varying roles they have within their families, even while living in America (Uehara, Chugen, & StaleyRaatior, 2017). PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 37 In this study, the sense of duty and collectivism that is encompassed with familism expands beyond immediate family members (parents and siblings) to include aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, generations of living grandparents, and as far as their 4th or 5th cousins. Of the eight study participants, each of them expressed their commitment to their family in various ways and made most of their decisions based off of family influence above all others. To understand the importance of the family for PI students, it is best explained in two parts: the first is how PIs outline the boundaries of their family and second, is what dedication to family means and looks like for the participants. Part One: Roles, titles, and boundaries in the family The Eurocentric outline of the family unit in America will generally include a set of parents and their children (the ‘immediate family') but, with the study participants, every one of them included at least one generation of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (‘extended family') into their conversations about family. Five of the eight participants referenced their relationship to other family members and even close family friends in a unique, non-traditional way, which, on occasion, made it difficult to understand exactly who they were referring to. For example, a few of the participants referred to their cousins as their siblings and their grandparents as their parents. Other participants had ‘aunties' and ‘uncles' who actually had no biological relationship to them but had been given the honorary titles. Fitu, one of the study participants, said, "that's why everyone thinks that Poly[nesian]'s are all related…sometimes we really are and sometimes we just say we are because we have that kind of love for each other". Pacific Islanders have strong ties to those that they love and here, Fitu exemplifies the point where familism and social capital meet-if an individual provides a valued service to the student, the individual can be encompasses into the family based on the students circumstances. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 38 As the data demonstrate, PI students do not feel the need to conform the ways that they determine their family members to the outline created by the dominant culture. The data also reveal that PI students will prescribe titles to individuals based on a level of endearment and care that they give. This shows that individuals have the potential of a high level of impact on PI students if they show genuine care and concern for their overall well-being. Additionally, the findings represent the significance of having distinct roles and responsibilities within a family unit for these students. Fitu's Story: Role of a Tongan "Fahu". Fitu is originally from California and moved to Hawaii after high school to live with her aunt and uncle who had no children of their own. Her story exemplifies the importance of roles and responsibilities to PIs and also how family boundaries are not static for PIs as roles are transferred based on circumstance, proximity, or level of care. She said, "When I'm with them I call them mom and dad because they took care of me while I was out there and I love them for that". Here, Fitu makes sense of her family relationships based on a measurement of love, as opposed to biological orientation. Her experience exemplifies the role of a parent breaking Eurocentic boundaries and overlapping with the roles of aunt and uncle. Fitu does, also, use traditional biological relationship references when speaking of her siblings and parents, but anyone outside of her immediate family could be reassigned from their traditional title. Fitu is clearly open to expanding her family community based on the level of care and love they provide her. In our interview, Fitu spoke about the specific family roles that exist within her Tongan heritage: The fahu is the matriarch of the family. Her responsibility is to keep the peace within the family. Their role as the eldest sister is to be wise and make sure that the family stays PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 39 together. There's levels to it-in the Tongan culture, it's more matriarch than the typical way here in America, which would be patriarch. The fahu would be your dads sister. She runs everything and puts everyone in their place. That role is so huge, the fahu. There's so many events [they attend] and your fahu is always recognized because they're the peacekeepers and they do so much for the family by being there for everyone and pretty much knowing everyone you're related to. So, for me, because I'm the only girl out of all my brothers, I am the fahu for my nieces and nephews... In her comments, Fitu breaks down one of the major roles within her family and culture-a role and title that she, herself holds. The fahu has added responsibilities within the family that she does not explicitly expand on, but she does make it a point to emphasize the importance of the role of a fahu and how it is crucial to keeping the family unified. Being a matriarchal society, where the women are held at a higher esteem than the men, Fitu is describing the fahu as being the primary person in a family that is responsible for maintaining their collectivist values and strong sense of familism. As a fahu, Fitu was not only able to elaborate on what that family role looked like but, she also explained her extensive knowledge of other family members and the role of a brother in her Tongan heritage: I have American friends who don't even know their parents' siblings, but I know up to my 5th generation [family members] on my moms' side, at least to my 3rd generation on my dads' side and I know my role in both families…I also know my brothers' roles as well. Basically, the brothers do like the slave work. For instance, if my brother had kids and my son had a birthday party and someone did a dance [to honor my son], then my brothers' kids would sit on the floor out of respect to show that you and your family are PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 40 above them because he comes from me-I'm the woman, the sister, and the fahu. The brother's role is so beautiful because they basically take care of the family, especially the girls. In this quote, Fitu outlines the boundaries of who her family is and explains the role that brothers, or men, in her family and culture carry. The extent of her knowledge, alone, shows that she is committed to and engaged in her role as a fahu. I thought it was interesting that she related the idea of "slave work" to her explanation of a cultural practice that is born out of respect for women and fahu's in the Tongan culture and to being a "beautiful" role. Later, I followed up with Fitu and asked for clarification on why she chose to use the phrase "slave work" and her response was, "it's just that they are supposed to be humble and do the hard work without complaining". The reciprocal benefits of the assigned family roles become evident through her explanation: the fahu acts as peacekeeper while offering wisdom to maintain family harmony and, in return, her brothers (men) provide support for their fahu and treat her with the highest levels of respect. When it comes to school, Fitu has attended two different colleges in the past but she is not currently enrolled in any classes and hasn't attended school for over a year. When some of her family members moved from the islands to the United States, she was asked or "assigned" (as she put it) by her father to help make sure that they were taken care of. She agreed and, as a result, she dropped out of school. It's like a curveball. Sometimes your roles come in at the wrong time and you have to suffer one and you just have to take a loss. Either you can't be there for your family and they just accept the fact that in the bigger picture this is good for me, and if it's good for PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 41 me, then it could be good for them. Or, it could be that I miss out on myself and my education so that my family knows my loyalty to them. According to Fitu's statement, she understands that there is value in education and that it can benefit herself and possibly her family. However, she is confronted with immediate needs that fall under her responsibility because of her role as fahu in the family. She described it as a tradeoff, as if simultaneously going to college and taking care of her family is not a possibility. Based on her decision to leave school to fulfill her responsibilities as her family's fahu, Fitu is declaring her loyalty to her family. Intergenerational Families: Raised in the Islands. While Fitu's story was unique because of the explicit way that she described the specific roles and responsibilities within her family, other participants also offered their experiences with family roles, responsibilities, and boundaries. For participants Valu and Annie, the roles and responsibilities of parenting were transferred to other, trusted members of the family who happened to live in the Pacific Islands and they also shared how relationships with other family members shifted as a result. Valu was born in the United States but was taken to live with his grandparents in Tonga as a toddler. Growing up in Tonga, Valu said: I had cousins and distant family members who I'm not exactly sure how we're related, but I was told were my brothers and I grew up with them like brothers-actually thinking they were my [biological] brothers. We fought like brothers and everything. It's funny because I only actually have one [biological] brother who I hadn't even met yet because I was in Tonga and [he] was in the states with my parents…but my grandparents were my parents in Tonga and I was their baby. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 42 Here, Valu explains that the role of a brother is not exclusively determined by biological orientation, but also by who he was raised with and who he was told, by his elders, his brothers were. In a family, siblings are the first peers that children encounter and they (especially older siblings) play a major part in role modeling, or mentoring, and in helping to fine tune social skills, despite the presence of sibling conflict and rivalry that Valu touches on (Tewari & Alvarez, 2012; Yee et al., 1998). While Valu still considers his biological brother as one of his brothers, he said in his interview that, "I've got a different relationship with him…it's kind of like my cousins are more like brothers and my brother is more like a cousin sometimes, because I grew up with them". The bond that Valu feels with the brothers he was raised with is stronger than the bond he feels to his biological brother whom he met later on in life. In addition, Valu indicates that the role of a parent is extended intergenerationally, to his grandparents and Valu views himself not only as a grandchild or child, but specifically as their "baby". His experience exemplifies a very collectivist culture and a strong sense of communal responsibility for child-rearing amongst PI families. In the United States, grandparents generally only raise their grandchildren if the parents are incapable of doing so, often because of child maltreatment, incarceration, divorce, death, or they are suffering from substance addiction (Arditti, 2014; Berkman & Harootyan, 2003). When asked why he was taken to live with his grandparents in Tonga, he said: They wanted me, I guess. My parents already had my older brother so I think they wanted to help my parents by taking care of me for them. My grandparents came from the islands when I was first born and stayed with me in the states until they had to go back and when that time came, they were so attached to me that they couldn't leave without me…I don't PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 43 think my parents didn't want me or couldn't take care of me. I just think they wanted to respect my grandparents wishes by letting them raise me. With such close-knit families, Valu's parents (to his knowledge) were capable of caring for him but they acted out of love and respect when letting their second son be raised by his grandparents in another country. On the other end, Valu's grandparents believed that they were acting out of love by relieving Valu's parents of the burdens that come with raising two children instead of just the one. Based on Valu's tone of voice and body language, as he shrugged his shoulders when speaking about his parents and grandparents motives behind their decision to send him to Tonga, it is possible that he is unsure of the exact context of his move to the islands since it happened when he was very young. Valu was not the only participant who was raised by their grandparents in the islands. Annie, another participant, was born and raised in Samoa by her grandparents for nearly a decade while her parents lived with her multiple other siblings in Utah. She described the reason why she was reunited with her parents in Utah, and not in Samoa: My grandparents brought me here, to the U.S., because they heard that U.S. kids have the best education and [primary] school is cheap here. And, you're able to go to school and college…I'm grateful that my grandparents saw that I have more potential than just going through high school in the islands and I'm actually able to go to college. But, being 10 years separated from my parents, it took me about 2 or 3 years to adjust to the fact that I'm the oldest-like, the fact that I even have siblings [because] I didn't know that I had brothers and sisters... I was very spoiled by my grandparents; they did everything for me. I would say that was the life but I actually love the fact that I have siblings but being the oldest, it's a great responsibility. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 44 Here, Annie is thankful that her grandparents believed in her and wanted her to have better educational opportunities, even though it wasn't an easy transition after she found out that she had siblings. Like Valu, Annie's grandparents shared in the responsibility of raising children that is often prescribed as a responsibility of parents. Here, we also see that being an oldest sibling comes with added responsibilities for Annie as well. Even though she was surprised that she had siblings, it has become a big piece of her identity-being an older sister. Annie is very involved with different activities through school, church, work, and family and has a very tight schedule. When scheduling her interview, she was very specific about her time availability and I allowed her to take the lead. She actually made it much easier for me because she coordinated the day, time, and location of her interview, per her request. She talked about how planning is very important to her: I usually do planning by myself [first] and I usually ask my family what their events that are happening are, that they want me to be there. This is a conversation between me and my parents, between me and my siblings [to know] when their games are, things that are happening in their lives, and then I also take in my work schedule, my classes, and I sit down and I just make my plan throughout the week… It can be challenging because, my parents - their poly[nesian] mind is like, "once you're home, you no longer have homework [and] you shouldn't be focusing on school or anything else-You're home, you're in tune with what the family needs". For Annie, the role of being an older sister requires planning and coordination so that she can manage her work, school, and home responsibilities. Annie makes it clear that, according to her parents, home is for family and family matters alone. Schoolwork is not meant to be done while at home because it would distract from what the family needs. This information gives insight to PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 45 how a student like Annie might perceive last minute assignments based on her capacity to fulfill expectations and responsibilities at home and at school. To conclude part one, most of the participants are open to more fluid family relationships and extended family boundaries based, often, on a criteria of love and care. On the other hand, certain roles and responsibilities in PI families are valued, essential functions to a successful operating communal family unit. These two particular takeaways are important when thinking about how to address unique situations for PI students because most of their unique attributes are centered in family. Part two further unfolds the level to which the study participants fulfill their responsibilities within their family and ways to which they believe they show their commitment and love for one another while highlighting the ways by which some family commitments explicitly and implicitly affect their college experience and attrition rates. Part Two: Commitment to family Familism, as mentioned before, is the belief that family is central and their collective needs are prioritized over the individual (Hernández & Bámaca‐Colbert, 2016). The study participants all expressed their value of family through their varying commitments to family concerns and needs over their own, as individuals. A theme within their commitments to their families was that the needs of the family are determined by the elders. Since all of the participants identified themselves as first generation college students and some even as being first in their family to graduate from high school, their commitment to college was secondary to their commitment to family because it is viewed as an individual priority and not central to the family. This is an example of the lack of cultural capital obtained by elders to understand how a college education can affect the entire family. The following section ties the unique experiences of the participants to the theme of commitment to family. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 46 Financial Obligations. Above, Fitu showed her commitment to family by helping her foreign family members acclimate to the United States and dropped out of college to do so. For study participant, Lima, his commitment to family, over himself, is also the reason why he has not re-enrolled in classes for over three years. He says, "I live with my mom, my three aunties, my uncle and my niece but I'm the only one working right now". He continues by explaining, "my mom stays home to take care of my niece and my aunties used to work but they didn't like their job so they quit and then I had to work full-time…they told me I needed to work full-time to help out and stuff". Lima's uncle is unable to work due to a medical condition, so Lima is expected to financially provide for his entire household which primarily consists of able-to-work adults. As a result, Lima has not been able to afford the time or financial cost of enrolling back in school. When Lima met with his academic advisor to try and enroll in school part-time last year, he was left feeling discouraged as he described: "They told me that it would be best if I only worked part-time so that I can take a full load [of classes]. I told them I couldn't because I needed to help out my family but it was like they just weren't listening to me. After I explained my situation, they didn't understand that I had to work full-time and that if I don't, who else would take care of us? I want to go back and finish, but I just can't right now. Probably next semester, I think, after my aunties start a new job." When asked if he ended up enrolling in classes after meeting with his academic advisor, he said, "No, I felt bad that I couldn't go full-time like he was telling me…and it just seemed like a hassle to only take one class". Here, Lima feels a sense of disconnect as his advisor does not seem to comprehend that a young man is the sole provider for his family which was made up of more than the Eurocentric model of just parents and siblings. As a result of the disconnect in PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 47 communication and understanding, Lima also feels disenfranchised by the school that is supposed to be supporting him. It is common for students of a racial or ethnic minority to have a high financial need or be otherwise labeled ‘low-income' (Merisotis & McCarthy, 2005). Even though Lima has expressed a strong desire to get a formal education, he is continually met with heavy financial responsibilities that have been placed on him by older family members. This is a variation of role reversal, which is when the responsibilities traditionally given to elders are, instead, placed on the younger generation (Zhou, 1997). Because Lima feels a strong sense of duty and care toward his family, he is willing to put himself and his personal desires on the backburner for his family. While none of the participants are married or have children of their own, Lima is not the only one to feel these substantial financial obligations to their family. Lua, Annie, and Ono also specifically mention their need to help their families financially. Lua has a similar story to Lima's, but she had attended an online institution for about a year and took a break because she needed to work full-time to help out her family, which includes five of her siblings who live at home and her parents. Between both of her parents, only her mother is able to work and most of her siblings at home are either still in high school or have children of their own that they have to stay home and take care of. She said: I hope this doesn't sound bad but I feel like Polynesians, that we're told that we're smart and that we can do hard things and stuff but after high school like our parents or our grandparents or whoever they just tell us to get a job, get a job... you need to help the family. And you know what, you kind of just do it because it's kind of just a sense of doing it and pride. Like it feels so good just to help your family. But in the long run PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 48 you're like, ‘I really should get an education because it would take me so much further- and my family [too]!' Here, Lua explains how her elder family members encouraged her to excel in school during high school but that expectations quickly shifted once she graduated from high school. Even though she is speaking generally about Polynesians, she is clearly referring to her own experiences. Lua recognizes the irony of her elders words when compared to their actions but she alludes that this is ‘just the way it is' for Polynesian families. It may seem unfortunate, but Lua feels an immense amount of pride being able to help her family when they are in need. Fortunately, for Lua, after working for nearly five years, she has been able to put herself in a position where she can help her family financially, but also afford to take college classes as well. The commitment these students have to help their families financially, despite having to sacrifice the college education that they highly value, gives us a better understanding as to why students leave school. Staying Close to Home. Findings from the interviews tell us that the influence of family members is a very important piece in the participants decision-making process when it comes to making decisions about college and life in general. When asked if he had considered attending a college out-of-state, twenty-one year old Tolu responded, I've thought about it, but my mom rejected the idea. I was going to go play football in California but she didn't want me to, so I stopped thinking about it. I'll probably just go wherever my family wants me to go. Based on Tolu's response, he clearly values the opinion of his mother. He continued to explain that even though he had received a scholarship to play football in California, he couldn't just leave his family behind. He plans on having his family move in with him when he gets picked up (on a scholarship) to play football at a local four-year university. While Tolu was happy to go to PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 49 college wherever he could play football and also get a talent scholarship, he chose to make his decision based on what his parents (in this case, his mother) felt was best for the family. The cultural values of commitment to community and family and respect for elders that Tolu practiced coincide with findings on the PI experience at four-year institutions (Uehara, Chugen, & Staley Raatior, 2017). In addition to Tolu's experience with his mother, Annie and Ono were also either encouraged to or felt the need to stay close to home based on the influence of family. When Annie was in high school, she played a variety of sports and was offered an athletic scholarship to a school in a nearby state to cover her full cost of attendance. Annie explained her experience: I was so excited to go…but my parents had a feeling that I shouldn't go, but in my mind I was like, ‘no, you probably just don't want me to move out'. I had the teenage mind of like, ‘you don't know what you're talking about-I'm going to go', but I'm so glad I listened to my parents because then I applied to other scholarships and the community college was the first [local] school to get back to me with a scholarship… My parents would freak if I just go to school for 16 weeks and they never see me and don't know what's happening with my life. I'm such a family-oriented person, to the point where I get my energy for schooling and my motivation from my family. For Annie, attending a college that offered her a scholarship was one of her priorities. Even though the thought of going out-of-state for college was exciting for her, her parents would be worried about her well-being since they would not see her regularly. However, Annie admits that she is motivated and energized about school because of her family. That implies that being close to them is beneficial to her academic performance and is overall, better for everyone. Ultimately, PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 50 when multiple scholarship opportunities presented themselves, Annie decided to stay close to home, near her primary source of motivation. Most students from race or ethnic minority families often have no other choice than to live at home while attending school because they can't afford the additional financial expense of living on-campus at an out-of-state college and they are more likely to be debt averse (Callender & Wilkinson, 2003). While this may be true for most of the participants, of the reasons why five of the study participants wanted, or chose, to live at home, finances were only explicitly a concern for one of them. Twenty-one-year-old, Ono, was born and raised in Nevada and relocated to Utah with his family in recent years. Ono has older brothers who have played football at Snow College and after returning home from serving a 2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, he decided that he, too, would go to Snow College and play for their football team. When asked why they chose to go to Snow instead of any other school closer to Salt Lake City where their parents and other siblings live, he responded, Well, honestly, I think it's because none of us wanted to be too far from our parents…I don't have the grades to go 4-year so, Snow is the closest school with a football team where, like, I could get in. But I plan to transfer. I followed up by asking if his brothers had transferred schools and he replied: So, one of them actually, my oldest one, he stopped going to school because he got married and has two kids that I love the most. But my second brother, he's actually going to be transferring this summer to Southern Utah University [on a football scholarship]. It's out past, like an hour and a half, from Ephraim…We're all within a few hours away but I know my parents would love to have us all home if they could. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 51 Ono made his college selection based on which school was the closest to home where he would be accepted because of his low academic performance in high school and where he could also play football. He comprehends the differences between 2-year institutions and 4-year institutions and knows that he wants to transfer like his brother but not too far away from where his family is rooted. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2017), Snow College actually has a 37% transfer-out rate which is almost three times the 13% of students who transfer-out from SLCC. The transfer-out rate is the percentage of full-time, first-time students who transferred to another institution of higher education. Seven of the eight participants mentioned at some point in their interview their need or desire to transfer to a 4-year institution, but only two of the seven said that they were open to transferring outside of Utah or away from their family. In conclusion, family, in its various forms and capacities, was the singular most mentioned and talked about entity throughout this research that was focused on the PI college experience. The intricacies of their experiences are important to take into account when thinking about intentional and strategic access and retention programming because we know that PI students who are already attending 2-year colleges in Utah are more likely to transfer to a 4-year college in Utah than out-of-state to be near their families. We also know that PI students often have financial responsibilities at home that make them feel isolated while attending institutions that don't offer as many resources for non-traditional students. Finally, we know that PI students heed the words of the elders in their family and will make life decisions based off of their influence. Mobilization of Social & Cultural Capital PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 52 All of the study participants identified themselves as being the first in their family to attend college or, in other words, they identified as first generation college students. Although being first in their families to attend college was not a major topic of conversation during the interviews, multiple components of the effects of being first generation were frequently addressed. First generation status affects the level of, and ability to access, social capital that a student may have when entering college which affects their ability to navigate college processes (Dennis, Phinney, & Chuateco, 2005). Of the human capital resources that these students have access to, many of them face limitations in their social networks because they are not able to mobilize their capital resources. In one section of the interviews, I asked if the participants had anyone help them through the process of applying to college and they all responded that they had. Tolu had his girlfriend help him because she was already in college, Lua and Valu said that they had friends help them, and the rest received help from either their high school college advisor or a college counselor or advisor. This conversation led into further conversations about academic support systems and interestingly, only Annie received help from a PI advisor and the rest said that their advisors were mostly white and occasionally Hispanic. Fa is one of the students who received help from her high school college advisor and she was also involved in the AVID program that helped her get a scholarship. She told me more about AVID: It helps prepare [high school] students for college and one thing that they focus on for juniors and seniors is to get scholarships so they can pay for school, and once they're done with that they can at least start their freshman year [of college]. Seeking clarity, I asked Fa if she could explain what kind of scholarship she was awarded, she responded: PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 53 Right now I have a scholarship and that scholarship takes me to the U (the University of Utah). It's a full ride where you start at SLCC and you have to graduate and…once you graduate you go up to the U and the scholarship is still there. When they gave me the scholarship I already graduated [from high school] and my teacher told me that when I went of my mission that when I came back it would be waiting for me…I don't know the name of it, my teacher just basically told me to write a paper about a struggle and then really did the rest. Here, Fa explains that her AVID teacher played a major role in helping her apply to the full ride scholarship that she currently has. However, she did not know what the name of the scholarship is, where it can be found, or any other specific details. She didn't go through the full process of applying. Instead, she was given pieces of the process information while her teacher may have filled in the blanks. Even though Fa gained in social capital by increasing her network to include her AVID teacher, this is an example of a lack in cultural capital since Fa won't know how to access and apply for scholarships when it comes time for her to transfer to a four-year college. Two of the study participants at Snow College happened to mention the same woman who helped them enroll in classes. Ono was one of those students and he shared: I can't remember her name at the moment, but I can see her face, she's married to a Poly[nesian] dude and I know what room she's in, but anyway, she helped me get my classes set up…I didn't know what I needed to do or like what classes I needed to take, so she took care of it for me. In response, I asked if he knew how to register for classes on his own and his reply was, "Honestly, no." PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 54 Even though Ono received the help that he needed by registering for classes and was able to expand his social network, he didn't actually increase his cultural capital because he didn't gain the resources needed to do it himself. In fact, when it comes time for him to transfer, Ono will have to go through the entire process again when he enters a four-year college and he will likely be unprepared. While these students note their access to various sources of social, or human, capital, they are not mobilizing these resources because their counselors and teachers are doing it on their behalf. The potentially information-rich social capital that are at their fingertips are disabling the study participants by doing the process for them instead of being an aid in helping them do it for themselves. The reason why the difference here is so critical is because of the phase at which these students find themselves; they are community college students who will go through similar, if not the exact same, processes again at another institution when they transfer but they are not gaining any sustainable resources. In the context of the social structure of educational institutions and in the broader context of students of color interacting with White school staff, the data represents the social and racial hierarchies that CRT explains (Delgado, 1995). From the lens of Bourdieu's (2006) social reproduction theory, in order to reproduce the social hierarchy standard, the dominant culture needs to have a monopoly on the cultural capital and by not providing full information to these PI students, they are able to reproduce the status quo. Family Social Capital & Social Support Tewari and Alvarez (2012) explain that, "family relationships may be primary sources of social capital that contributes to resiliency and provides a lifelong source of social support, or they may serve to increase burdens" (p. 296). Lua, along with four other participants, expressed PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 55 that the social capital they receive from their families have, on occasion, increased their academic burdens. Lua said: So, I know there's a lot of kids that are other ethnicities [that] when they graduate from high school, a lot of them just get to stay home and figure out-for however long-what they want to do. But I mentioned earlier-it's kind of like a given [for PIs]. Once you have that diploma, you start working right away and it's a mandatory thing. I never really had that pass to just stay at home and take a break because my parents need me to work. Again, even though they said that I'm smart and that I should like go to college…I can't do that if I'm working. As a social support system, Lua's parents encourage her to go to college and try to make her feel that she can accomplish hard things. On the other hand, they lack the cultural capital needed to know that working full-time and going to school full-time is hard to manage and that when doing both simultaneous, she is likely to be overwhelmed to the point of either failing classes or dropping out of school (Macan et al., 1990). In contrast, part-time work, and especially part-time on-campus employment, while attending school full-time has shown many positive benefits such as better time management skills and more effective study habits (Hammes & Haller, 1983). Valu also spoke about his experience dealing with his family, their cultural capital, and social support that they provide him: Since my parents are from Tonga, they've never gone to college. They tell me to get an education and go to college, but I need help. I mean, not just money help, but I know nothing. My parents usually just say, you will figure it out…I know that they pretty much know nothing, too, but it can be hard. I see my other friends like my White friends, and PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 56 they get embarrassed to have their parents help them with stuff but in my head I'm like, I don't know, pretty jealous because I wish my parents could help me like that. Valu feels like he is missing out because his parents can't help him with school things when he needs it. He compares himself to others who have different experiences and are not marginalized by things like systemic racism. The efforts for social support by Valu's parents is there, but again, it is not matched with the necessary cultural capital to be most effective in helping Valu navigate his educational pursuits. Here, Lua and Valu give examples of how PI families say that they value education and therefore encourage their children to go to school and get an education. Unlike European (white) Americans, who focus on increasing their childs self-esteem and individual well-being, PI families are similar to their Asian American counterparts who "emphasize the collective value of school success as a positive reflection of the family" (Tewari & Alvarez, 2009, p. 301). The difference is, however, that the necessary social and cultural capital for college functions is often less common amongst PI families, especially since Asian American students are less likely to be first generation college students (Teranishi et al., 2013). We see, from multiple participants, that their families have said to support the students educational endeavors, but then ask, or pressure, them to focus on other things. This is, in-part, a result of a lack of the family members experience dealing with college processes; the students are first generation college students and therefore the long-term benefits of receiving a higher education are not something anyone in the family is familiar with. Because of this, they are looking for rapid results to meet the immediate needs of the family. Summary PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 57 These PI community college students are in a unique phase where, once enrolled in college, access to social capital increases but the ability to mobilize the social capital resources does not necessarily increase in unison. The stagnant or low level increase of mobility in this phase comes as a result of academic support structures performing tasks on behalf of the students instead of teaching and empowering the students to do it for themselves. In addition. support given by family is often lacking based on the needs that students have in college. As first generation college students, their parents and other family members do not know how to best support their new needs in a new space. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 58 Chapter V: Conclusion Implications As a PI and staff member at Westminster College, I witness the lack of representation of PIs on campus on a daily basis. Westminster College's work toward inclusive excellence is not inclusive of PIs and especially of PI transfer students. Westminster College does not have a plan or strategy to support incoming Pacific Islander students at any capacity, including those who would be transferring in from a community college. The only information regarding Pacific Islanders that Westminster College has made accessible on their website is in student and employee demographic charts amongst other race and ethnic groups. According to the 2010 US Census projections of the Utah racial and ethnic makeup, the figures of Westminster's make-up are not representative of the PI community that exists within Salt Lake County (see image below). 2010 US Census Report: Race and Hispanic Origin in Salt Lake County, UT PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 59 The PI students at SLCC and Snow College are underserved at their 2-year institutions and have no support in sight when considering Westminster College to transfer to. These students are trying to navigate higher education as first generation college students with limited social support systems that have the necessary social and cultural capital to help them succeed at the community college level, let alone a 4-year private liberal arts college. If Westminster takes small steps toward their goal of being diverse, equitable, and inclusive, they can shift their student, and possibly their employee, demographics to better reflect the local demographic of PIs. In order to increase access for PI students, you must first address the solutions for retention that begin with making small shifts in campus culture and cultural practices. My findings shed light on the larger issue of retention of PI students; if PI students are unable to receive the support they need at SLCC or Snow College, Westminster College has the opportunity to be proactive about meeting the needs that their 2-year institutions are lacking by identifying the intersection points of PI culture and Westminster culture and nurturing those specific identity traits. Recommendations Growing the Family to include Westminster College Based on the findings, the collectivist culture and strong sense of family and obligation to family can be used as a strategy to recruit and retain Pacific Islander students from 2-year institutions to Westminster College. As a small community, Westminster College has developed PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 60 programs to cultivate even smaller niche communities for students to feel that they truly belong and are accepted and even celebrated on their campus. For example, the new Legacy Scholars program features a mentorship program where Legacy Scholar students are paired up with staff or faculty mentors. Generally, mentors are paired with students who have some sort of shared identity and the idea behind mentorship is to build and develop authentic relationships and increase the students social and cultural capital, among other benefits. A problem that Westminster College faces is that nearly every niche community that exists has been developed for the traditional student coming straight out of high school that caters to other racial and ethnic minority populations, PIs not being one of them. Students who are coming from community colleges have different needs based off of their varying lived experiences but, that doesn't mean they need less resources than the traditional student, just a little bit different. While the study participants did have access to social support systems at their institutions and were exposed to human capital resources, there is a disconnect occurring that limits them from mobilizing the resources at their disposal. One way to improve that is implementing intentional mentorship programing, which I believe, can be an adaptation of the model that Legacy Scholars has created into the Pipeline Proposal. Early Mentorship Implementing a mentorship program for PI students coming from community colleges as a resource and a way to increase the mobility of social capital would greatly benefit these students. The findings show that the responsibility and expectations of PI students by their parents or elders after they graduate from high school shifts rather significantly. Parents and elders do not always understand the collective value in a college education because there is no immediate reward or benefit that meets their collective, immediate needs. Rather, they witness PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 61 the hassle of trying to navigate various higher education processes such as financial aid and academic advising, in addition to seeing the immediate costs of both time and money that come as a result of a college education. Such a mentorship program would need to have very specific parameters because an effective mentor would become an extension of their family. We know, from the findings, that many PI students are open to expanding their definitions of family. If a member of the Westminster community becomes a part of the students' family community, the student will have a similar sense of obligation to the institution as they do their families. They will also develop increased levels of trust with not only the student, themselves, but also with parents and elders. Lastly, mentors will share their social capital and social support resources with students and their families to help frame the value-proposition to parents and elders in a way that they can see the long-term, collective benefits of the immediate sacrifices. This recommendation intentionally opposes the opposite notion of bringing a students family into the Westminster community, although I recognize that the two will likely co-exist. The purpose of intentionally having a Westminster representative adapt to the students family is to show that there is a cultural compromise and that Westminster College finds value in difference. The current paradigm does not account for any specific attempts to engage with the values or experiences of the PI student identity for transfer or first-year students the way that Westminster's Diversity Statement commits to. In order to accomplish this recommendation, mentorship needs to begin prior to applying to Westminster. To be affective and develop an authentic relationship of reciprocal love and care, mentors and students will need time to develop that connection. My recommendation is that Westminster place PI mentors on-site part-time at SLCC and Snow College to work with them PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 62 similar to the way that many community-based organizations will place college advocates in high schools to help them access college. That would allow, ideally, two years for the studentmentor relationship to develop and then continue their relationship once they are enrolled at Westminster. The mentor would spend half of their time at Westminster and the other half at SLCC or Snow College so that mentees at all levels have access to their mentor-consistency is important in creating sustainable difference in minority students academic success (Smith, 1998). Never Lose Sight of the Family Another key component of the mentors is that they need to be of Pacific Islander descent in order to connect and understand where these students are coming from, based on their similar first hand, lived experiences. Parents and elders are more likely to trust someone who is already a part of their cultural community (Tewari & Alvarez, 2009). Gaining the support of the family may be difficult, but will make it easier for students to feel that they are receiving social support and capital from both family and their academic community. Based on the findings, helping students find on-campus employment so that they can continue to help their families financially, would be a good strategy. Additionally, parents can be at ease when letting their students live on campus because they know that there is someone that they know and trust looking out for their child. There are many strategies that can be deduced from the findings, I have only presented some beginning thoughts. I recognize that many of the recommendations that I have made are not new concepts or ideas in the realm of academia. However, I think it is critically important that all students feel valued, especially ones that make up large percentages of the local demographic of a given institution. Collaborative efforts with other diverse populations is also a great option for these students since they have many overlapping experiences. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 63 Limitations A large limitation that I faced was a result of the regional context of examining two-year colleges in Utah for two main reasons. The first is that there is only one outright community college and one other college that offers a few 4-year programs but primarily functions as a 2year college. There are benefits to having less community colleges in the region because the data is a little easier to collect from a capacity standpoint however, it also acts as a limitation because there is little variation on the availability of academic resources. The second reason is a result of the large LDS population that exists in Salt Lake County, where most of the participants live or where their families live. This was an important piece of why this research is unique, but also leaves out the experiences of PI students who are not of the LDS faith to be more inclusive in that regard. Moreover, only three of the participants were going to school full-time and the rest were either part-time students or no longer enrolled in school which brings limitations involving levels of engagement. There were four male participants and four female participants, but all were cisgender and heterosexual so the possibility of having more gender and sex identities may have brought different findings. The participants were all also around the same age or are otherwise millennials and a perspective from older participants and parents who are students may have made the findings even more dynamic. Finally, time was a major limitation as the interviews that I conducted were only about an hour long but could have easily gone longer in most cases. Future Research As I strongly hope to see research on PI college students more forward, I would recommend keeping the research limited to students at the same phases in their educational path. Instead of looking at former students, part-time, and full-time, choose one to hone in on. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 64 Additionally, conducting a series of interviews with the same participants or increasing the length of the interviews to be an hour and a half would be helpful as story-telling is part of many PI cultures and having less formal questions would allow for authentic story-telling responses to take place. Another option would be to have a series of interviews with each individual participant to allow the participants more time to tell their stories. Interviewing key family members, such as parents, and college support staff would also be beneficial since they are primary resources of social capital and social support. Learning Objectives The primary learning objective that I address with my research is advocacy for diverse populations and understanding how different cultures experience the world differently within bigger societies based on societal norms and values. Westminster College, as an institution that was born from American, Eurocentric values, must actively advocate for the populations that are marginalized as a result. As a member of multiple marginalized populations, I have become a better advocate for PI students through this research because I have a better insight as to what their experiences are. This research experience has helped prepare me for more opportunities in my career working in enrollment management at institutions of higher education. As an admissions counselor, I have a duty to advocate for equitable practices and empathy is a necessary trait that need in order to do that. It is a trait that I've developed in my role as an admissions counselor and it was only strengthened through this project as I worked with students who felt a bit uncomfortable sharing the details of their lives. Being an advocate for students requires critical thinking in order to break the traditional molds that are in place with higher education practices overall. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 65 Personal Reflection Engaging in the PI student experience is such a personal matter for me because it is a part of my identity that I will carry, on formal and informal platforms, for the duration of my life. Working with my student participants was eye-opening for me to see how the student experience varies and is so unique and really a delicate thing that we deal with in higher education regularly. It was also eye-opening for me in the sense that the student college experience, being as delicate as it is, is often an afterthought of many administrators in positions of power. That is, not to say that overall, the student experience is overlooked, but I am saying that the stories of students should matter as they are real, lived experiences and experiences shape reality. It is my personal belief that the loyalty to family that Pacific Islanders display paired with their ability to love and express their love to each other is what gives them the capacity to thrive in higher education if they are able to redistribute that passion and share it with educational efforts. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 66 References Adelman, C. The toolbox revisited: Paths to degree completion from high school through college. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2006. Allred, N. C. (2007). Asian Americans and Affirmative Action: From yellow peril to model minority and back again. Asian American Law Journal, 14, 57. Andreasen, R. O. (2000). Race: biological reality or social construct? Philosophy of Science, 67, S653-S666. Arditti, J. A. (2014). Family Problems: Stress, risk, and resilience. John Wiley & Sons. Ashtiani, M., & Feliciano, C. (2018). Access and Mobilization: How social capital relates to low income youth's postsecondary educational (PSE) attainment. Youth & Society, 50(4), 439-461. Berger, J. & Lyon, G. (2005). Past and present: A historical look at retention. Pp. 1-27. In A. Seidman, ed. College Student Retention. Formula for Student Success. Westport: Praeger. Berkman, B., & Harootyan, L. (2003). Social work and health care in an aging society: Education, policy, practice, and research. Springer Publishing Company. Bourdieu, P. (1986). The Forms of Capital. In Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (J Richardson, pp. 46-58). Greenwood, New York. Bourdieu, P. (1996). On the Family as a Realized Category. Theory, Culture & Society, 13(3), 19-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327696013003002 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 67 Bourdieu, P. (2006). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In D. Grusky and S. Szelenyi (Eds.), Inequality: Classic readings in race, class, and gender, pp 257-271. Bourdieu, P. and Jean-Claude Passeron. (1990). Reproduction in education, society, & culture. 2nd. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. Callender, C., & Wilkinson, D., (2003). Student income and expenditure survey: Students' income, expenditure and debt in 2002/03 and changes since 1998/99. Department for Education and Skills, London. Carter, D. J., & Wilson, R. (1994). Minorities in higher education. 1993 Twelfth Annual Status Report. American Council on Education, Publications Department M, One Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20036. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED407890 Casey, R. (2001). Voyaging beyond home waters: The experiences of Pacific Island students at an American university. ProQuest Digital Dissertations. (UMI 3017389) Chang, J. C. (2005). Faculty student interaction at the community college: A focus on students of color. Research in Higher Education, 46(7), 769-802. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162 004-6225-7 Chang, Mitchell J. et al. (2007). Beyond myths: The growth and diversity of Asian American college freshmen, 1971-2005. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles. Christie, H. (2007). Higher education and spatial (im)mobility: nontraditional students and living at home. Environment & Planning A, (10), 2445. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 68 Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95-S120. Coley, R.J. (2000). The American community college turns 100: A look at its students, programs and prospects. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service, Policy Information Center. Craig, A. J., & Ward, C. V. L. (2007). Retention of community college students: Related student and institutional characteristics. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 9(4), 505-517. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.9.4.f Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43 (6), pp. 1241-1299. Critical Race Theory in Higher Education. (2015). ASHE Higher Education Report, 41(3), 1633. Delgado, R. (1995). Critical race theory: The cutting edge. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Dennis, J. M., Phinney, J. S., & Chuateco, L. I. (2005). The role of motivation, parental support, and peer support in the academic success of ethnic minority first-generation college students. Journal of College Student Development, 46(3), 223-236. Fadeeva, Z., & Mochizuki, Y. (2010). Higher education for today and tomorrow: university appraisal for diversity, innovation and change towards sustainable development. Sustainability Science, (2), 249. Figueroa Helland, L., & Lindgren, T. (2015). What goes around comes around: From the coloniality of power to the crisis of civilization. Political Economy of World Systems Conference, Berlin, Germany. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 69 Fink, D., & Carrasquillo, C. (1994). Managing student retention in the community college. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED379008 Geertz, Clifford. The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. New-York/N.Y./USA etc. 1973: Basic Books, pp. 3-30 Goncalves, S. A., & Trunk, D. (2014). Obstacles to success for the nontraditional student in higher education. Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research, 19(4), 164-172. Hammes, J. F., & Haller, E. J. (1983). Making ends meet: Some of the consequences of part-time work for college students. Journal of College Student Personnel, 24(6), 529-535. Hernández, M. M., & Bámaca‐Colbert, M. Y. (2016). A behavioral process model of familism. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(4), 463-483. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12166 Hill, L. D., Bregman, A., & Andrade, F. (2015). Social capital for college: Network composition and access to selective institutions among urban high school students. Urban Education, 50(3), 316-345. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085913514590 Kauanui, J. K. (2008, September 8). Where are Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in higher education? Retrieved October 14, 2017, from https://diverseeducation.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/where-arenative-hawaiians-andother pacific-islanders-in-higher-education/ Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (3 rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 70 Kulik, C. C., Kulik, J. A., & Schwalb, B. J. (1983). College programs for high-risk and disadvantaged students: A meta-analysis of findings. Review of Educational Research, 53(3), 397-414. Kvale S (1996) Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Laden, B. V., ed. (2004). Serving Minority Populations /. Symposium, (127), 5-106. Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1998). "Just what is Critical Race Theory and what's it doing in nice field like education?" International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 11 (1), 7 24. Lamport, M. A. (1993). Student-faculty informal interaction and the effect on college student outcomes: A review of the literature: Adolescence. San Diego, CA. Lather, Patti (1986). Issues of validity in openly ideological research: Between a rock and a soft place. Interchange, (17) 4, pp. 63-84. Lee, Stacey J. & Kumashiro, Kevin K. (2005). A report on the status of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in education: Beyond the "model minority" stereotype. Washington, D.C.. National Education Association of the United States Human and Civil Rights. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED569217 Levin, J. S., Viggiano, T., López Damián, A. I., Morales Vazquez, E., & Wolf, J.-P. (2017). Polymorphic students: new descriptions and conceptions of community college students from the perspectives of administrators and faculty. Community College Review, 45(2), 119-143. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 71 Lin, N. (2008). A network theory of social capital. In D. Castiglione, J. W. Van Deth & G. Wolleb (Eds.), The handbook of social capital (pp. 50-69). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Lipsitz, G. (2006). The possessive investment in Whiteness: How white people profit from identity politics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. (Chapter 5- How Whiteness Works, available online at Giovale Library). Macan, T. H., Shahani, C., Dipboye, R. L., & Phillips, A. P. (1990). College students' time management: correlations with academic performance and stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, (4), 760. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. (2006). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications McMahon, M. (2013). Underprepared college students. Research Starters: Education (Online Edition). Mendez‐Luck, C. A. ., Applewhite, S. R. ., Lara, V. E. ., & Toyokawa, N. (2016). The concept of familism in the lived experiences of Mexican-origin caregivers. Journal of Marriage & Family, 78(3), 813-829. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12300 Merisotis, J. P., & McCarthy, K. (2005). Retention and student success at minority serving institutions. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2005(125), 45-58. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Mintz, S., & Kellogg, S. (1989). Domestic Revolutions: A social history of American family life. Simon and Schuster. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 72 Museus, S. D. (2011). An introductory mixed-methods intersectionality analysis of college access and equity: An examination of first generation Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2011(151), 63-75. https://doi.org/10.1002/ir.399 National Center for Education Statistics [NCES]. The condition of education. Washington, D.C.: NCES, 2010. National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education. (CARE), (2008). Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: Facts, not fiction: Setting the record straight. Nguyen, B.-M. D., Nguyen, M. H., & Nguyen, T.-L. K. (2014). Advancing the Asian American and Pacific Islander data quality campaign: data disaggregation practice and policy. Asian American Policy Review, 55. Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion 160 Diversity Statement | Westminster College Salt Lake City. (2017). Retrieved October 28, 2017, from https://westminstercollege.edu/about/diversityequity-and-inclusion Osajima, K. (2000). Asian Americans as the model minority. In M. Zhou & J.V. Gatewood (Eds.), Contemporary Asian America: A multidisciplinary reader (pp.449-458). New York: New York University Press. Pacific Unity Association | SLCC. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2017, from https://www.slcc.edu/diversity/islander/pacificunity.aspx PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 73 Perez Huber, L. (2010). Using Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit) and racist nativism to explore intersectionality in the educational experiences of undocumented Chicana college students. Educational Foundations, 24(1-2), 77-96. Pierce, Jennifer. (2014). Why teaching about race as a social construct still matters. Sociological Forum, (1), 259. Poon, O., Squire, D., Kodama, C., Byrd, A., Chan, J., Manzano, L., …Bishundat, D. (2016). A critical review of the model minority myth in selected literature on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 469-502. Rankin, K. R., Katsinas, S. G., & Hardy, D. E. (2011). Community college retention and access issues: A view from the field. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 12(2), 211-223. Ratcliff, J. L. (1994). Seven streams in the historical development of the modern American community college. In G. A. Baker III (Ed.), A handbook on the community college in America: Its history, mission, and management (pp. 3-16). Westport, CT: Greenwood. Roueche, J.E., & Roueche, S.D.. (1999). Making remedial education work. Washington, D.C.. Community College Press. Ryan, F., Coughlan, M., & Cronin, P. (2009). Interviewing in qualitative research: the one-to-one interview. International Journal Of Therapy & Rehabilitation, 16(6), 309-314. Sabogal, F., Marín, G., Otero-Sabogal, R., Marín, B., & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1987). Hispanic familism and acculturation: what changes and what doesn't? Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 397-412. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 74 Schiele, J. H. (2016). Afrocentricity: Implications for higher education. Journal of Black Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/002193479402500202 Schmid, C. (2009). Community colleges: Access and outcomes. San Francisco, CA. Conference Papers American Sociological Association, 1. Serna, G. R., & Woulfe, R. (2017). Social reproduction and college access: Current evidence, context, and potential alternatives. Critical Questions in Education, 8(1), 1-16. Sethna, B. N. (2011). Minorities in higher education: a pipeline problem? Research in Higher Education Journal, 13. Shin, R. Q., Welch, J. C., Kaya, A. E., Yeung, J. G., Obana, C., Sharma, R., … Yee, S. (2017). The intersectionality framework and identity intersections in the Journal of Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist: A content analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 64(5), 458-474. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000204 SLCC at a Glance - Salt Lake Community College - Acalog ACMSTM. (2015). Retrieved October 30, 2017, from http://catalog.slcc.edu/content.php?catoid=10&navoid=767 Shohat, E., & Stam, R. (2014). Unthinking Eurocentrism : Multiculturalism and the media. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315771441 Spring, Joel. (2006). Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: A brief history of the education of dominated cultures in the United States (4th ed). New York: The McGraw Hill. Szeman, I., & Kaposy, T. (2011). Cultural Theory: An Anthology. John Wiley & Sons, 81-94. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 75 Teranishi, Robert T. (2010). Asians in the ivory tower: Dilemmas of racial inequality in American higher education. New York: Teachers College Press. Teranishi, R. T. (2012). Asian American and Pacific Islander students and the institutions that serve them. Change, 44(2), 16. doi:10.1080/00091383.2012.655233 Teranishi, R. T., Behringer, L. B., Grey, E. A., & Parker, T. L. (2009). Critical race theory and research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education. New Directions for Institutional Research, (142), 57-68. Teranishi, R., Lok, L., Nguyen, B. M. D., Educational testing service, & National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE). (2013). iCount: A data quality movement for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in higher education. Educational Testing Service. Teranishi, R. T., & Nguyen, T.-L. K. (2012). Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders: the changing demography of the United States and implications for education policy. Asian American Policy Review, 17. Tewari, N., & Alvarez, A. N. (2012). Asian American Psychology: Current Perspectives. Psychology Press. Townsend, B. K., & Wilson, K. (2006). "A hand hold for a little bit": Factors facilitating the success of community college transfer students to a large research university. Journal of College Student Development, 47(4), 439-456. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2006.0052 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Uehara, D. L., Chugen, J., & Staley Raatior, V. (2017). Perceptions of Pacific Islander students in higher education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000057 U.S. Census Bureau (2010). American Community Survey, 2008-2010 3 Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS). U.S. Department of Education (2007). Persistence and attainment of 2003-04 beginning postsecondary students: After three years. Institute of Education Sciences; National Center for Education Statistics. Yee, B. W. K., Huang, L.N. & Lew, A. (1998). Families: Life-span socialization in a cultural context. In L. C. Lee & N. W. Zane (Eds.), Handbook of Asian American psychology (pp.83-135). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Zhou, M. (1997). Growing Up American: The Challenge Confronting Immigrant Children and Children of Immigrants. Annual Review of Sociology, 23(1), 63-95. Zhou, M. (2004). Are Asian Americans becAdelman, C. The toolbox revisited: Paths to degree completion from high school through college. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2006. 76 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 77 Appendix A: Individual interview protocol Introduction guide: I am a graduate student at Westminster College working on my Masters of Community Leadership. I am interested in exploring the insights and experiences of Pacific Islander (PI) students who currently attend Salt Lake Community College. These experiences are important because they will help Westminster College understand the needs and concerns of this population and will improve the current access and retention programs that exist at Westminster. My research focuses on the unique attributes and ambitions of Pacific Islanders along with other characteristics as well. Confidentiality: All personal information will be kept confidential. I will refer to you in pseudonyms, rather than using personal names. If there is anything particularly sensitive that you wish for me not to disclose, I need you to tell me. Before we begin, I ask that you thoroughly read and sign a consent form. If you have any questions about the consent form, please ask before you sign the form. The information you share will only be used in the context of this study. Interview questions: ● How is your semester going so far? ● How long have you been a student at SLCC? ● What area of the Pacific does your family originate? Have you ever lived in the islands? ● If yes, where did you live? For how long? ● What brought you to Utah? ● If no, how many generations has your family been in the US/Utah? ● How long have you been a student at Salt Lake Community College? ● Why did you choose Salt Lake Community College over other colleges and universities in the area? o Are you originally from the Salt Lake area? ▪ If no, where are you from and when did you come to Salt Lake? ● What are you currently studying at SLCC? ● What do you want to do after you finish your studies at SLCC? o Do you have a specific timeline for these goals that you're willing to share? ● What does it mean to be PI? What role does being PI play in your life? In your experiences in college? o Are there any cultural practices that you observe that impact your ability to be successful academically? Positively and/or negatively? ● Do you know of any resources available to you as a Pacific Islander? If so, please explain what they are. ● What resources are you aware of that are available to you as a SLCC student (not necessarily because you are Pacific Islander)? ● What is your biggest concern when it comes to pursuing a 4-year baccalaureate degree? ● What do you like most about SLCC? ● Explain your experience applying to SLCC and the admissions process? ● Explain how you understand the admissions process at Westminster College? ● What do you know about Westminster College? ● Have you been visited Westminster's campus? ● What sort of courses do you take during the summer (if any)? ● Have you ever been involved in any other (formal or informal) interview or focus group because you were a Pacific Islander college student? ● What does it mean for you to be a Pacific Islander college student? PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 78 Appendix B: Focus group protocol Introduction guide: I am a graduate student at Westminster College working on my Masters of Community Leadership. I am interested in exploring the insights and experiences of Pacific Islander (PI) students who currently attend Salt Lake Community College. These experiences are important because they will help Westminster College understand the needs and concerns of this population and will improve the current access and retention programs that exist at Westminster. My research focuses on the unique attributes and ambitions of Pacific Islanders along with other characteristics as well. Confidentiality: All personal information will be kept confidential. I will refer to you in pseudonyms, rather than using personal names. If there is anything particularly sensitive that you wish for me not to disclose, I need you to tell me. Before we begin, I ask that you thoroughly read and sign a consent form. If you have any questions about the consent form, please ask before you sign the form. The information you share will only be used in the context of this study. Code: Cultural Responsibilities & Expectations Focus Group Questions: Please introduce yourself and briefly describe your experience at SLCC. This can be whatever you'd like to share; how long you've been at SLCC, what you're studying, any involvement on campus that you have or anything else you find relevant. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Do any of you happen to know (or be related to) anyone else in this focus group? o If yes, what is your relationship? How would you describe your ability to balance your school requirements and your expectations at home? What role do you play in your home? Are you the primary provider/head of household? Do you live with your parents or other family members? What responsibilities do you have that you think come specifically from being a Pacific Islander? Please explain where you think your other responsibilities come from. What motivated you to get an education after high school? What motivates you to continue to progress through school? What are your plans when you finish at SLCC? o If any group member responds that they are planning on transferring to a 4-year school: ▪ Which school would you like to transfer to and why? How would you describe your commitment to family and your PI community? *Again, these questions will be solely dependent upon the responses of individual interviews and the themes and codes determined from them. This is a possible collection of focus group questions based on the coding: cultural responsibilities and expectations. PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 79 Appendix C: Adult consent form Westminster College Institutional Review Board (IRB) For the Protection of Human Subjects Co-investigator: Quincey Malauulu 760.622.8421 *Before agreeing to participate in this study, it is important that the following explanation of the proposed research be read and understood. It describes the purpose, procedures, benefits and risks of the study. It also describes your rights as a participant. Study Procedures You have been invited to participate in a research study, the purpose of which is to gain insight to your personal experiences as a Pacific Islander student attending Salt Lake Community College. As a participant, you agree to meet for a semi-formal interview and/or focus group. Interviews will last no longer than 60 minutes and focus groups will not exceed 90 minutes. By signing this consent form, you agree to participate in a semi-formal interview that will include a series of questions about your personal ambitions, as well as your understanding of college processes and resources at Westminster College. Your identity will remain anonymous at all times. Purpose of Study The purpose of collecting this information is with the hope that it will inform access and retention programs at Westminster College and advocate for increased research on Pacific Islanders in higher education. You will be notified if there are any significant changes made during the duration of the study. Compensation There is no compensation for participating in this study. Refusal or Withdrawal of Participation Please understand that participation is completely voluntary, and you can discontinue your participation at any time during the interview, without any penalty to you. Anything said in the interview is confidential, however, you can choose not to answer any particular question at any point in the interview or focus group. Risks There is minimal risk with this study. Time will be an expense for you, as a participant, but there is no physical risk involved with this study. You will be asked to share your experiences and stories about your time at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) as well as your aspirations in your education. Negative and/or emotional discomfort are possible risks that participants may encounter. If such feelings should arise, emotional support can be found through on-campus resources at SLCC, but I will also offer my personal support whenever possible. Questions If you have any questions about this study or wis h to withdraw, please contact the primary investigator, Dr. Jamie Joanou, at 801-832-2485. If you have any questions regarding your rights as a research participant, please contact the Chair of the Institutional Review Board, Sheryl Steadman, at 801-832-2164. _________ Initial Here Participant Signature Co-investigator signature Date Date PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE Appendix D: Promotional advertisement / recruitment flyer 80 PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 81 Appendix E: Facebook Recruitment Post "To my fellow Pacific Islanders, I am a graduate student at Westminster College in the Master of Arts in Community Leadership program. I am on the last leg of my program, but I need some help from any of you Pacific Islanders out there who are either currently attending Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), or know someone else who is a Pacific Islander currently attending SLCC. For my research, I am conducting a series of interviews and focus groups to learn more about the experiences and ambitions of Pacific Islander students at SLCC. As a Pacific Islander myself, I realize that these experiences can be good, bad, or somewhere in between-I want to hear it all! If you identify as Pacific Islander or have origins from islands in Micronesia, Melanesia, or Polynesia and take classes at SLCC, I would love to sit down and interview you. Comment below if you are interested in further details or feel free to tag someone you know that might like to participate. I know we all have busy lives and our schedules can be crazy, but I appreciate your help in advance!" PI COLLEGE EXPERIENCE 82 APPROVAL of a thesis/project submitted by Author(s): Quincey Otuafi School Department: MACL Title of Thesis: Knowing them first, in order to serve them best: Exploring the Pacific Islander college experience at Utah’s 2-year institutions of higher education The above named master's thesis/project has been read by each member of the supervisory committee and has been found to be satisfactory regarding content, English usage, format, citations, bibliographic style, and consistency, and is ready to be deposited and displayed in the Westminster College-Institutional Repository. Chairperson, Supervisory Committee: Jamie Joanou Ph.D Approved On 12/15/2018 8:02:39 PM Dean, School: Dr. Melanie J. Agnew Approved On 4/20/2019 9:16:26 AM STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO DEPOSIT & DISPLAY THESIS IN THE INSTITUTIONAL REPOSITORY Name of Author(s): Quincey Otuafi School Department: MACL Title of Thesis: Knowing them first, in order to serve them best: Exploring the Pacific Islander college experience at Utah’s 2-year institutions of higher education With permission from the author(s), the staff of the Giovale Library of Westminster College has the right to deposit and display an electronic copy of the above named thesis in its Institutional Repository for educational purposes only. I hereby give my permission to the staff of the Giovale Library of Westminster College to deposit and display as described the above named thesis. I retain ownership rights to my work, including the right to use it in future works such as articles or a book. Submitted by the Author(s) on 12/15/2018 2:26:32 PM The above duplication and deposit rights may be terminated by the author(s) at any time by notifying the Director of the Giovale Library in writing that permission is withdrawn.