Reimagining College Access: Centering Youth Wisdom and Aspirational Capital Beyond the Debt

• In Event: A College and Career Nexus That Promotes Access for All Marginalized Students

Abstract

This study highlights the voices of Black and Latinx high school students as they describe their college access journey. Their voices provide a counter narrative to the deficit-framed “college readiness gap.” Through qualitative interviews, the youth identify their academic strengths and goals (aspirational capital) and helpful supports and relationships (familial and social capital) that foster their postsecondary ambitions.

Authors

• Wendy Morrison-Cavendish, University of Miami

• Deborah A. Perez, University of Miami

• Kaitlyn Casanas, University of Miami