Abstract
Latinos are now the largest ethnic group in the United States and will continue to grow. However, the severe underrepresentation of Latinos in higher education is evident from research showing that the majority of Latino students who enroll in the California community colleges intending to transfer to four-year institutions are not being successful. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to: 1) examine the experiences of transfer-bound Latino students primarily in one TRIO program, Student Support Services (SSS), 2) identity factors that hindered or facilitated a transfer culture, 3) illuminate the voices and testimonios of Latino students, and 4) corroborate recommendations for change in policy, institutional practices and TRIO advocacy to support students of Latino ethnicity transfer from two-year college to four-year public institutions. Nine self-identified Latino students who completed at least two years as TRIO participants and transfer-bound were selected. Four research questions guided this study to examine the influence of the advocacy of leadership when supporting students and creating a transfer culture. The researcher incorporated CRT and LatCrit frameworks to examine factors that challenged or supported the experiences of Latino students. The analysis took into account the community cultural wealth to identify and illuminate the unrecognized assets of participants and a transformative leadership approach identified by TRIO practices. Findings revealed that major hindrances came from the K-12 system in which students encountered negative experiences and exclusion based on their ethnicity and socio-economic status. Overall, the findings revealed that despite the challenges encountered during their K-12 years, the participants’ cultural wealth assets helped them achieve transition from high school to college. Finally, the TRIO SSS played a critical role in preparing students to transfer by validating the student’s cultural wealth. The study concludes with future research recommendations as well as a transfer climate model influenced by existing frameworks and based on study findings to support students in their transition to four-year institutions.