Momentos agridulces (Bittersweet Moments): Finding Myself

• In Event: First-Generation Women of Color Professionals: An Examination of the Intersectional Experiences in Higher Education

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
I conduct a critical self-reflection of my life experience from a graduate international student to a higher education professional while considering my intersectional experiences of being as a first generation, foreign-born national, and mother of color. My goal is to bring awareness of the array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources that marginalized individuals possess and are unrecognized or unacknowledged.


Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
Through Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model (Yosso, 2005; 2006), I examine my strengths as a former international graduate student from Peru and my resiliency as I pursued my educational goals in an American institution and become a professional in Higher Education. CCW changes the view from deficit perspective to the assets that communities of color gain. This framework help understand how as a person of color I access and experience life from a resource-based perspective.


Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
Autoethnography encourages the researcher to apply “a critical lens, alongside an introspective and outward one, to make sense of where we are in the context of our cultural communities” (Boylorn & Orbe, 2013, p. 17). Ellis, et al. (2011) explains that autoethnography is a process and product of 1) the description of systematic analysis (graphy), 2) personal experience (auto), and 3) to better comprehend cultural experiences (ethno).

Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
Through an autoethnographic account I take a narrative approve to tell the story of my intersectional experiences influenced by cultural dimensions and relationships as a first-generation, foreign-born national, and mother of color while highlighting my strengths and resources as I navigate the higher education system and become a higher education professional.


Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
As higher education institutions work towards a more inclusive and equitable organization, there is no doubt that more critical approach to the intersectional experiences of women of color is needed to “continue to build in power and spirit in higher education, society, and their individual lives” (Anaya, 2011, p. 25).
Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
Scholars who have examined international student experiences tend to focus on the barriers and challenges of this student population. CCW emphasizes that in the pursuit to understand the lives of minoritized groups, researchers must shift from a deficit perspective to an asset-based approach of communities of color. In other words, while CRT and LatCrit can highlight the structural conditions that shape Latina/o college student experiences, CCW pushes us to understand how people of color access and experience college from a strength-based perspective. Despite the challenges these students face while adjusting to their campus, students somehow manage to overcome their struggles (Lee, 2010). In my experience, I can attribute it to my inner drive to succeed and accomplish my goals. According to Yosso (2006), this can be explained by the aspirational capital, which is “the ability to maintain hopes and dreams for the future even in the face of barriers” (p. 41).

Author

• Patricia Aguirre, California State University - Northridge