ABSTRACT
As was noted in Chapter 2, recent studies consistently record the importance of support systems for minority students and racialized students in higher education. This was true for female and male traditional-age and adult learners (Howard-Hamilton 2003; Baker 2005; Johnston 2006; Richardson-Shavers 2007; Ausmer 2009; Lawson-Thompson 2010; Yamauchi 2010; Hancock 2011; Ferguson 2013; Arnold 2014; Hargrove 2014). The participants in this study were no exception. No student ventured into her or his ADCP alone. While interviewees reflected on their decision to return to school, school choice, and persistence in school, they all had people in their lives who encouraged them on this journey. As was discussed in Chapter 6, the participants had personal, financial, and family responsibilities to manage for their enrollment and degree options to be plausible. Therefore, theme three, support systems, proved to be one of the salient themes of this study.
