Structured Happenstance: Pathways Toward Upward Mobility Among First-Generation Latine College Students

Clarissa Gutiérrez (), Amado M. Padilla, Oswaldo Rosales, Miriam Rivera, Veronica Juarez and Michael Spencer
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Clarissa Gutiérrez: Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Amado M. Padilla: Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Oswaldo Rosales: Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Miriam Rivera: Ulu Ventures, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
Veronica Juarez: Arturo Advisory, Houston, TX 77006, USA
Michael Spencer: Independent Researcher, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA

Social Sciences, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-23

Abstract: Higher education is often positioned as a pathway to upward social mobility, yet access to highly selective universities (HSUs) remains limited, with first-generation college (FGC) students from low-income and ethnoracially minoritized backgrounds disproportionately constrained by structural barriers. This study applies an asset-based lens to examine how a cross-generational team of six Latine FGC affiliates of an HSU (i.e., alumni, doctoral students, professor) resiliently persisted in their educational and professional journeys, leveraging cultural and social capital. Employing Chicana/Latina feminist methodology and dialogic inquiry, we engaged in pláticas to critically reflect on factors that shaped our life trajectories. Findings reveal that social mobility was negotiated collectively rather than individually, highlighting tensions between personal advancement and commitments to family and community. We also consider the role of structured happenstance in pivotal encounters (e.g., being recognized by mentors, recruited by scholarship programs) that appeared serendipitous but were situated within systems where opportunity is inequitably distributed. Structured happenstance exposes the precariousness of such pathways and systemic gaps in FGC student support, challenging the notion that access to elite, capital-rich institutions is the product of merit alone. Our narratives offer a nuanced portrait of how FGC students navigate social mobility across the life course.

Keywords: first-generation college students; Latine students; cultural capital; social mobility; pláticas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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