ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the transnational experiences of Latina second-generation immigrant college students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in South Central Texas. The author draws on the Anzalduan concept of the “mestiza consciousness” wherein Latinx/a/o students reject the either/or duality and reconcile multiple cultural identities while navigating cultural, linguistic, and academic borders. Drawing on a qualitative research approach, the data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews and pláticas with the women attending college. Analyses of responses from interviews with students illustrate the ways Latinas developed their cultural identities, maintained family ties across borders, and formed understandings of education as the children of immigrants. Implications of this study include the need for practices that recognize and value the continuous transnational experiences of second-generation immigrants as these experiences can translate to their lives as first-generation college students.
