Icing Summer Melt Through PhotoVoice: A Participatory Method to Assist Underrepresented Students' Transition Into College

• In Event: COVID-19 and College Access

Abstract

Summer melt affects first-generation, low-income students at disproportionate rates and leads to deferment or cancellation of enrollment for students intending to matriculate. The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, along with social uprisings that have spread nationwide, is speculated to lead to an increase in summer melt due to a lack of in-person advising and interventions possible. This photovoice project is intended to give voice to historically underrepresented students, while providing insight into the effects of COVID-19 and the protests prevalent in their communities and nationwide on college-going decisions through 9 virtual sessions. Through the SHOWeD approach, students analyzed their photos and captions and focused on 3 themes: family dynamics, adapting to the new normal, and finding community on campus.

Authors

• Meghan Ecker-Lyster, University of Kansas

• Tonya Waller, University of Kansas

• Dalton P. Allen, The University of Kansas Medical Center

• Laura Kingston, University of Kansas