Crossing Culture: Caribbean Students at U.S. Universities

• In Event: The Transnational Self: Experiences of African and Caribbean Students and Teachers in U.S. Educational Contexts

Abstract

In this qualitative research project, I explore the lived experiences of five Caribbean students studying at a rural university in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I investigate the personal challenges encountered by young adult Caribbean students and focus on their perspectives and coping strategies as they negotiate the sociocultural norms found in the United States. Framed both by my use of testimonio as method and the composite lens informed by my use of bricolage, I look at how all these factors influence their academic experiences and the ways in which they perceive and perform the Self. In doing so, I highlight key aspects of the community experience and add to the conversation surrounding the adaptation of international students at U.S. universities.

Author

• Dyanis Conrad Popova, University of South Dakota