PROTECCION CATODICA

Receiving support from members of their family, close friends, and significant others is a prevalent theme from the interviews. A support system, even if it does not include financial support from parents, that encourages and motivates participants to begin and continue attending at the community college is represented in this theme.

Participant 1 shares her support system is “pretty good.” She goes on to say, “my parents and grandfather usually ask me how school is going everyday” and adds, “if I have a problem or I need to come [to campus] for an unexpected reason, like for an assignment or something, my parents usually let me come.” Participant 2 explains that as being part of a military family with her dad deployed overseas, she chose to attend the researched institution because, “I went to three high schools, two middle schools, and all that, so I’m used to jumping around. Even though I’ve been jumping around and moving 10 times, I am very, very connected to my family.” In her support system she has “my mom, and my siblings, and my dad” and she has “best friends all over the world.” Her strongest support, she shares, is “My dad, he’s the one who has helped me so much with everything I’ve decided to do.”

Participant 3 goes into detail about the support from her family “My mom and dad are both very good. My dad, like I said, I get some grants through his work and that helps me. And like I said, my mom is very supportive throughout school. She will help me study. She will help me edit papers before they have to get turned in.” About her brothers, she shares, “they both help me out too, with the transitions, and classes, and stuff.” She adds, “My brothers help me when I am confused in a topic or need help with understanding. They also help to assist with signing up for classes which is great because it is always nice to get a review on a professor before taking them!” She attributes the helpfulness of her support system to the “ongoing encouragement and the help that each family member gives me.” She concludes, “My family and my niece are what keep me going!” Participant 4 says, “I get a lot of support from my parents” and attributes help to continue attending the community college to his parents.

Participant 6 shares she lives at home with “my dad, and my sister” but does not receive any financial help from her father to pay for college. Participant 7 explains she usually seeks out her grandparents for support “because they seem to understand me more” but her parents still encourage her to continue. Participant 8 says her support system is “amazing” adding “My parents pay for my textbooks, they pay for my tuition for now at [the community college]. My brother understands that I have a lot of homework to do and I can’t hang out with him all the time.” She goes on to say, “My parents don’t force me to have a job, they pay for my car.” About her support system, she adds her family “keep[s] me encouraged, keep[s] me going.”

Included in Participant 7’s support system are her grandparents, “because they seem to understand me more” and her parents, “they’re like ‘You’ve got to do it, you have no option.’” Describing how her support system helps her, she says it is “sort of support, sort of pushing me and making sure I stay in and won’t let me quit.”

Participant 9 “live[s] with her sister and her two kids while [her sister] is going through a divorce” and says, “I have a lot of support to continue my education.” She adds her father is “a single father” that “did not progress past high school” so “there’s not that financial support that a lot of kids have.” She says although he didn’t go to college, he is constantly pushing her to continue. Participant 11 lives with his family but gets more support from his brother. He shares his brother has been “really helpful in supporting me” adding “He gives me guidance. He was actually in the same boat I was doing. But he’s been here a lot longer than I have.”

Participant 13 is married with three children and says her support system is “pretty strong.” She adds, “my children don’t really understand, but my husband, he actually took on some more work so I could go back to school.” Participant 14 says, “I have a very good support system. I have my mom, my dad, sister, and brother-in-law.” She explains she’s “really close with them” because “my whole family, they all recognize that college is a really important part of life now, and that you really won’t get too far without it.” Participant 15’s family pushes him and encourages him to keep going. He shares his family, his “mom, dad, and then my little brother” is probably who he falls back on for support.

Two participants attribute most of their support comes from their friends, rather than their families. Participant 5, shares he gets a lot of support from his friends. About his family, he adds, “my family really doesn’t bother much as long as I’m getting good grades, they don’t’ really care.” He goes on to say, “They really don’t want me to do film and acting and all that” because his stepfather “doesn’t think I’m going to get anywhere with that kind of degree.” For Participant 12, a lot of her support also comes from a friend. She explains, “One friend in particular that I’ve relied on through all of this has been very encouraging and helpful.” But about her family she

says, “I have a mother and siblings who tend to need more support than they give, but they are there when I need them.”

From informal discussions of how their day went, or talking about things they learned in class, the notion of family support is an emergent theme in the interviews. For some participants, the family support includes financial support, recommendations for courses or professors, and even advice about a potential career or transfer plans. For other participants, their primary supports are from grandparents, siblings, or friends that they trust to share their feelings about their experiences. Regardless of who the participant confides in, a strong support system is perceived as a positive influence to persist at the community college.