Community College Transfer Phenomena: Experiences of Academically Resilient Mexican and Mexican American Students

This present study explores influences that contribute to academic resilience in the transfer process of 11 Mexican and Mexican American community college transfer students at a public, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) on the West Coast of the United States. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and transcripts were analyzed using Moustakas' (1994) Transcendental Phenomenological approach, which entails the scientific study of the appearance of a phenomenon (in this case, students' transfer process) as it is seen and appears to the participants and researcher. Significant emergent statements were synthesized into themes that were then organized to create a composite structural description of the essence of academic resilience for these participants in order to illuminate the meaning of the participants' lived experiences. Findings indicate five emergent themes associated with academic resilience in the transfer process: (a) overcoming challenges in the transfer process, (b) mentor support. (c) maturity through experience. (d) finding community, and (e) desire to pay it forward. Implications for practice and research will be discussed, as well as recommendations for community college transfer programs and 4-year receiving institutions.