First-Generation College Student Experiences of Intersecting Marginalities

“This book is an important contribution to more than one field of inquiry: working-class studies, student affairs, and campus diversity. The essays complicate and enrich our understanding of who the first-gen student actually is, just as first-gen students also complicate and enrich our nation’s campuses. The book promises to help colleges and universities better understand first-gen students and support them in meaningful, effective ways, moving beyond discussion of ‘access’ alone and toward retention and graduation. The book is a valuable addition to the literature driving change to make higher education both more welcoming and more responsive to the needs and aspirations of all students.” —Carolyn Leste Law, Thesis/Dissertation Advisor at Northern Illinois University and coeditor of This Fine Place So Far from Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class