UCLA

The racialized experiences of Students of Color (SOC) on college campuses continues to be a pressing issue in the field of higher education (Stokes, 2021). As a response, some college access programs have sought to prepare high school SOC to navigate these college environments by integrating critical consciousness—or critical awareness of inequity and injustice—as a fundamental component in preparing high school students to be “college ready.” The problem that this dissertation addresses is that very little is known about the experiences of undergraduate SOC who have participated in such programs once enrolled in college. Grounded in Critical Race Theory, this study is designed to better understand how 12 undergraduate SOC navigated higher education after participating in VIPS, a race-conscious college access program. This qualitative research study uses a Critical Race Methodology by drawing on platicas and life story mapping as sources of data. The study found that through VIPS, SOC gain a critical consciousness and set of tools to identify and challenge the deep-seated nature of racism in higher education. Additionally, through VIPS’ race-conscious curriculum, SOC can recognize and effectively respond to microaggressions and systemic barriers within higher education settings, particularly at UCLA. This preparedness helps them to manage and resist racialization processes on campus. Lastly, SOC utilize the insights and skills gained from VIPS to build community and advocacy, pushing for a transformative impact on campus policies and practices toward greater equity and inclusion.