Researchers have documented how race and racism influence the college experiences of U.S. citizens. However, research on the ways that race and racism affect international students warrants similar attention. This qualitative study explored how international students learned about U.S. concepts of race and racism and how such concepts shaped their college experiences. The participating international college students learned about U.S. concepts of race and racism through media, relationships, formal education, and lived experiences. They defined these concepts in varying ways and had varying racial ideologies.

The recent student movement activities across the nation marked a new era in student activism in higher education. Similar to past student movement eras, a powerful aspect of these activities was the issuance of demands to change various institutional policies, procedures, and infrastructure to promote diversity as well as equity and inclusion. Student demands were often concerned with changing issues that hampered the academic and social well-being of marginalized students. However, identifying how the student demands relate to patterns of systemic issues across institutions needs additional attention. Through a reorientation of a college impact approach to further center on student experiences, the current study promotes the consideration of students impacting their institutions, which challenges a traditional linear view of colleges affecting students with little possibility of a reciprocal relationship. Through an analysis of student demands across the nation, we find subtle patterns about where demands were issued and the context of these demands that gesture to how students readily identified what administrators need to do to support the educations of marginalized students. Further, when considering the institutionalized feature of Africana Studies that resulted from a student-led social movement of the past, our analyses suggest how students can shape their institutions for future generations and push to transform higher education into a more equitable, inclusive, and socially just educational environment.

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Coffee at Hikes Point, and the PAS department, you all have played a unique role that have influenced my personal and professional life in a positive way. Thank you.To my haters, thank you for reminding me that those who are the biggest threat are often the target of people like yourselves. I hope you sleep well at night knowing that all of the energy you put in being jealous got you nowhere. I will remind you that you did not break me and that you can refer to me as DR. JAKIA MARIE. iv ABSTRACT DENKYEM: IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND NEGOTIATION AMONG GHANAIAN-AMERICAN MILLENNIALS Jakia Marie November 1, 2019Ghanaian immigrants and second-generation Ghanaian-American Millennials are largely ignored in scholarship. Using qualitative methods, this study explored the experiences of Ghanaian-American Millennials who are first, 1.5, and second-generations with the purpose of understanding how they create, negotiate, and re-create identities. Twenty-one individuals were interviewed using a phenomenological approach. The main findings suggest that even though the sample populations were of different immigrant generations, they have some similar experiences, which demonstrates the value in exploring age instead of solely immigrant generation. The findings also suggest that there are a number of complex layers that are involved in identity development and negotiation that become compounded when one is an immigrant or second-generation American. The study closes with suggestions for future research and implications for practice for scholars, policy makers, and community members.