Examining the Development of Graduate School Aspirations Among Latinx College

• In Event: Latina/o Narratives, Counterstories, and Duoethnographies of Students and Faculty in Higher Education

Abstract

While the number of Latinx college athletes continues to increase, research on their collegiate as well as postgraduate experiences remains limited. In this qualitative study, we used Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model to explore how athletics influenced former NCAA Division I Latinx college athletes to pursue graduate school. We conducted a qualitative inquiry to explore the experiences of seven former NCAA Division I Latinx college athletes and how athletics influenced their graduate school enrollment. The themes that emerged included: (1) family influence and support, (2) athletic department’s encouragement, and (3) Latinx faculty representation. The findings from this study have the potential to reframe how scholars think about Latinx graduate students and college athletes.

Authors

• Guillermo Ortega, Idaho State University

• Nikola Grafnetterova, Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi