Navigating Unfamiliar Terrain to J.D./Ph.D.

Abstract

Nontraditional and underrepresented students face immense stressors in their pursuit of higher education. Their ability to fully realize their potential and capability to pursue higher education may be inhibited simply by the ways they've learned to perceive the world and themselves during childhood. These students' paths to attaining higher education are often more arduous as they counter unique and separate obstacles than their more privileged peers. Such challenges may include being the first in their families to pursue higher education or having little experience navigating higher education, being of lower socioeconomic status, balancing familial and work roles and obligations, and experiencing ostracism and invisibility. From poverty to military service, to stumbling blocks, to achieving undergraduate and graduate education, this chapter details a student's unconventional and arduous journey to attaining higher education and her successful pursuit of two doctoral degrees. The hope is that students experiencing similar struggles may be empowered.