Community: Voices from a small cohort

Abstract

PEEPS (Program for Engineering Excellence for Partner Schools) NSF S-STEM scholarship was designed to support students from low socioeconomic, first generation and/or underrepresented groups in obtaining an undergraduate engineering degree at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). Students receive up to $10,000/year to aid in paying tuition, housing or other school expenses. The program was modeled after the Posse Foundation cohort model. At our university, student cohorts are formed by scheduling them into engineering major and support courses together. Students also engaged in monthly advising sessions, tutoring services, engineering success courses, group socials and engineering outreach activities. There is a total of 13 students in two cohorts. These students are currently in their 3rd and 4th year at the university. Last spring, we interviewed each student individually to see if we could learn from their experiences. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes. There is much in the interviews, but we discuss the findings using Yosso's Community Cultural Wealth model. We discuss the role of financial support, navigating a predominantly white institution (navigational capital), a smoother transition into university life (Social Capital), peers as social support (Social Capital), and aspiring to make a social impact (Resistance Capital). It is our hope that this paper gives voice to these students who have brought with them assets as they maneuver this predominately white institution. It is our hope the insights from this paper will help all of us develop support structures that will transform our institutions and others like it.