Focus of the Research

The feelings of mattering and belonging on college campuses, more specifically among STEM majors, was the primary focus of the research done throughout my participation in the OPWL Action Research Lab. The process included the search for supportive research articles and completing literature reviews, interviewing students on Boise State's campus, organizing our findings, and gathering and concluding suggestions for university efforts.

Introduction to the Research

As Boise State emerges to become a Hispanic serving institution, there is much work to do to ensure the students are set up for academic and personal success throughout their college years. We are sharing the work from a team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers conducted by the Student Design Research Team in 2020-2021. The team focused on diversity in STEM and the experience of first-generation students and students of color in STEM disciplines at Boise State. Having steeped ourselves in the diversity, equity, and inclusion research in higher education STEM, the student to student research team conducted interviews with their peers from various backgrounds to capture their experiences of belonging to better understand the blind spots the institution needs to consider as we work to become an Hispanic service institution.

Our project is funded by an LSAMP grant awarded to Boise State as part of the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PNW LSAMP) under the leadership of the University of Washington's Center for Evaluation & Research for STEM Equity (CERSE).

Positionality

As a Latine, first generation college student myself, I, Jazlyn Olmedo, have experience first-hand the troubles that exist for many other students now, before, and future, who may too identify as Latine or first-generation. Although I successfully completed my undergraduate program, looking back I realize the difficulties experienced could have been prevented or less troubling than they were. The fact is that experiences of traditional, white, middle-class students does not at all reflect the unique yet difficult experiences of all students attending college. If institutions assume all students resemble those traditional students, they will not be equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to best serve their first-generation and students of color. While many supports are important, this research project has focused on increasing students' sense of belonging on campuses as an essential component for success.

Important Notes

Latine

The articles on this site use the term Latine as it is a more inclusive identifier for many of the students interviewed who held Hispanic or Latin backgrounds. This term allows us to not only be gender-neutral when discussing students and their Hispanic/Latin identities, but additionally be linguistically easier for Spanish-speakers to use in their native language (Del Real, 2020).

Pseudonyms

All interviewees referenced on this site are identified only through pseudonyms to protect their identities.