Exploring High School Newcomer Youths’ Futures: Academic and Career Aspirations

Abstract

A majority of newcomer youth who have recently migrated to the United States encounter a daunting task of mastering an entire high school curriculum in a new language while attempting to attain college readiness. Very little research exists that examines newcomer youths’ transitions from high school to college. Utilizing interviews with six high school newcomer students, this paper aims to answer the following questions: What are the career and college aspirations of high school newcomer youth? What barriers do they face in fulfilling their educational and career goals? The findings will better inform educators, specifically school counselors, about how to better develop their college and career readiness.