Rural Latinx Counterstorytellers: Examining Students’ Responses to the University of California’s Personal Insight Questions

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Abstract

This paper investigates how nine rural Latinx high school seniors from California’s San Joaquin Valley agricultural region who applied to the University of California (UC) conveyed their lived experiences, abilities, and higher education pursuits through their responses to the UC’s required personal insight questions. Our data was analyzed using the five guiding tenets of critical race theory and the purpose of counterstorytelling methodology to analyze rural Latinx students’ lived experiences and abilities from a strength-based perspective, thereby positioning students as counterstorytellers. Overall, the findings demonstrated that rural Latinx students perceived themselves as community leaders, connected with the land, and as multifaceted individuals whose lives and higher education pursuits were filled with some disparities but also beauty, hope, and resilience.

Authors

• Mayra Puente, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Melissa Romero, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Diana Magana, University of California - Santa Barbara