University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

¡Si se pudo! Exploring Mexican American college student persistence stories during COVID-19

Holterman, Arianna Agramonte

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129270

Description

Title
¡Si se pudo! Exploring Mexican American college student persistence stories during COVID-19
Author(s)
Holterman, Arianna Agramonte
Issue Date
2025-04-29
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Hood, Denice W
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Hood, Denice W
Committee Member(s)
  • Delaney, Jennifer
  • Baber, Lorenzo D
  • Lee, Sharon
  • Moton, Theopolies
Department of Study
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Discipline
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Higher Education
  • Mexican American
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • persistence
  • assets
  • agency
  • financial aid
  • identity-specific support
Language
eng
Abstract
The primary purpose of this dissertation is to explore how Mexican American students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) persisted in Higher Education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This descriptive qualitative study collected oral history interviews to serve as primary resources for the Student Life and Culture Archives at Illinois preserving what it was like to complete high school and succeed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign during the pandemic. Particular attention is spent on the sources of persistence, the protective factors, that ultimately allowed these specific students to persist despite a large-scale emergency. The findings demonstrate that these students persisted by tapping into their existing cultural wealth assets, using individual agency, and connecting to specific Illinois resources, such as need based financial aid and identity specific spaces, groups, or resources, to mitigate the negative impacts of their experience. These stories may also be critical in understanding Mexican American student retention during not only the COVID-19 pandemic, but other personal or large-scale crisis or emergencies that may acutely impact this population due to existing social inequities.
Graduation Semester
2025-05
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129270
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2025 Arianna Agramonte Holterman

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