Our Stories Weren't in the Syllabus: Unmasking the Silent Struggles of First-Generation Latinx Students in Higher Education

Abstract

Latinx students make up one of the largest and fastest-growing groups of first-generation college students in the United States, yet their lived experiences in higher education often remain overlooked. This study examines how first-generation Latinx undergraduate students in the San Francisco Bay Area navigate mental health challenges as they pursue higher education. Grounded in a Latinx Critical Theory (LatCrit) framework, this research centers on participants’ narratives to analyze how structural inequalities, familial cultural beliefs, and sociopolitical conditions shape their mental health and college experiences. Using a qualitative approach that integrates testimonio, this study draws on eight semi-structured interviews with students across four institutional contexts: a community college, a California State University, a University of California institution, and a private university. Findings reveal that students experience high levels of stress, imposter syndrome, and unhealthy coping behaviors due to institutionalized academic pressures, exacerbated by sociopolitical conditions that generate fear, uncertainty, and exclusion. Familial cultural beliefs often contribute to the normalization and silencing of mental health challenges and often limit students’ access to support, and overlapping familial, academic, and societal pressures shape students’ sense of belonging and identity. Institutional inequalities produce academic misrecognition, social disconnection, feelings of being unsupported and misunderstood, and limitations in accessing resources. Despite these challenges, students demonstrate resilience through self-care, community, familial cultural values, support from professors, culturally affirming programs, and peer networks. This study contributes to ongoing research about equity in higher education by highlighting the need for more culturally responsive, accessible, and holistic institutional support systems that recognize and support the full humanity of first-generation Latinx students.

Read Honors Thesis here.