COVID-19 Impacts on Mexican American College Student Experiences in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic devastated many communities and exacerbated existing inequities, particularly for Mexican American communities along the South Texas border. During this tumultuous time, many Mexican American college students balanced coursework, work, and familial responsibilities in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), a Texas borderland region disproportionately affected by the spread of COVID-19 when compared to Texas overall. This qualitative study uses narrative analysis to examine oral history interviews of 11 college students from the RGV to understand how COVID-19 shaped their experiences throughout the 2020-2021 academic year and how they leveraged region-specific cultural assets to navigate their multiple roles during this historic time. The authors draw from Borderland Cultural Wealth (Yamamura et al., 2010) to posit a college retention framework by examining how 11 college students navigated the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy and practices. Findings suggest that Mexican American students leveraged their RGV cultural assets to navigate health disparities, secure income for themselves and their families, and prioritize familial responsibilities while completing virtual coursework during the pandemic. This study contributes to the research that challenges RGV student deficits and illuminates the importance of cultural assets of Mexican American communities in the RGV. We provide future research recommendations and considerations for asset-based college retention policies and practices in higher education.