Raising Student Voices

The Chronicle partnered with Langer Research Associates to dive deeper into the mind-sets and motivations of those who choose college and those who build career and life skills in other ways. Here’s what our focus groups told us.

Selena Bush, 26, is a senior at Roosevelt University, in Chicago, where she is majoring in biology. She’s had false starts in her college education and heavy family and financial burdens, working as many as 60 hours a week in multiple jobs on top of her full-time studies.

Felisia Tagaban Gaskin realized there are better ways to inspire and measure student success than focusing on grades and attendance rates. As the director of the University of Arizona’s Native Student Outreach, Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) program, Gaskin’s approach includes providing culturally responsive programming and building a strong on-campus community.

Nicole Javitt’s family life turned upside down during her freshman year at Montgomery College. A counselor at the college made all the difference — supporting her through her darkest days, marshalling resources, and helping her get her studies back on track to continue her academic journey.

Kal-El Key, a recent graduate of SUNY-Canton’s new esports-management program, hopes to find work in the fast-growing industry. Here’s his story.

Vasily Keytiyev has overcome a troubled past and is back on track, thanks in part to the Marine Corps Reserve and a nonprofit called Service to School.

Will Shafer and Nolan Cook have been shaped by living and working on farms, by families that valued education, and by their tight-knit community of Weston, Mo. Their stories illustrate how very similar students can look to higher education for exactly opposite reasons: as a means of staying grounded in a place or of (sometimes even literally) flying away.

Viviana Mitre, a U.S. citizen who lives in Juárez, Mexico, shares her story of a daily commute across the border to pursue her education and become the first person in her family to graduate college.

Through a program that targets students with foster-care backgrounds attending Virginia’s community colleges, David Billhimer has found something like a family of his own at college.

Amber Crowder, a college graduate incarcerated for federal mail fraud, felt overwhelmed after her release. A career-development program helped her re-enter society.

The stories of two second-generation sons of immigrants who made choices that led them down a path to incarceration. After prison they are getting the rare chance to start anew.

When Savana Paciulli enrolled at Smith College, in Northampton, Mass., in 2022, it was the latest in a string of successes. She’d just earned her associate degree at nearby Holyoke Community College, graduating as valedictorian with a 4.0 GPA. She’d been instrumental in creating a…

After fleeing Afghanistan, in 2021, Edris Tajik earned a scholarship to Bard College. His life is proof of the power of education to transform lives.

At 18, Laurie Jimenez was in a “bubble,” limited by the requirements and expectations of a strict religious organization. Today, at 28, she studies molecular, cellular, and developmental biology at Yale. See how Jimenez persevered to achieve her academic goals.

How Josh Hansen, a student with learning disabilities, is clearing hurdles in pursuit of a degree.

Colleges play a role in developing, supporting, and sustaining a movement.

Kaitlyn Thornton, a Washington State University undergraduate, juggles academic and farm work as she educates her hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers about food and agriculture.

Students describe the support they feel at West Virginia University. No matter where you are from, they say, the campus feels like home.

Alicia Gangone, a master’s-degree student at Wichita State University, has overcome many challenges and hopes to help other Native American students.

Two first-generation students describe the multiple challenges and profound losses they’ve faced in college -- and what has helped keep them in school.