Abstract
There is a lack of studies that share experiences provided by current students in low-income environments who are considered at-risk, but yet are resilient in school. The experiences shared by these resilient students may be useful because the information they provide could assist other students in low-income environments who are considered at-risk to become academically successful. This qualitative study used the critical case study approach and the data was collected through individual, semi-structured, open-ended interviews with four participants who either were in high school or just graduated from high school. The four participants discussed receiving the following supports that could assist other students in poverty: a school with quality teachers and staff as well as extracurricular activities that are beneficial and interesting; a community consisting of academic and recreational programs; a family that either provides role models and academic support, and/or is motivational. Though the students in the study did discuss obstacles within their family (e.g., mobility, siblings at-risk of attrition), community (e.g., violence, peers incarcerated), and school (e.g., lack of teacher support, poor behavior in class), access to these supports assisted them to remain resilient and motivate them to continue to attend school and work to earn a high school diploma. Lastly, participants provided suggestions for teachers and students that could help other students who currently live in poverty.