Sociology Student Lands Library Award for Research
As a first-generation college student, Natalie Salas has experienced difficulties navigating higher education on her own.
Salas felt like she didn’t have people around her to ask for help, and she wanted to dive deeper to see if others had similar struggles by conducting research on fellow first-generation students.
“I found that a student's college experience plays a significant role in determining their success in higher education,” said Salas, who will receive a bachelor’s degree in sociology this month. “For Latinx first-generation college students, factors such as family, FGCS status and representation all play a key role in determining their success and resilience in higher education.”
Salas has been recognized for her findings as one of seven winners of the 2023-24 CSUSM Library Award for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, which comes with a $500 cash prize for each winning submission.
Salas’s paper is titled “'I Don't Belong Here': A Qualitative Study on the Experiences of Latinx First-Generation College Students.” Despite an increase in Latinx students enrolled in undergraduate programs, she found that graduation rates have remained stagnant, raising a concern.
Salas discovered that Latinx students are systematically disadvantaged in higher education, causing them to question their sense of belonging and hurting their chances of success. But even in the face of these challenges, Latinx first-generation college students remain resilient.
After graduation, Salas plans to take a gap year, then continue her research in a Ph.D. program.
“I will most likely do a combined program or just go straight for my Ph.D.,” she said. “I plan to focus on Latino/a sociology and the sociology of education.”
Other winners
Creative works category
Submission: “MET”
Student: Mary Elizabeth Handler
Program: Art, media and design
Summary: Handler’s project is inspired by the book “The Metropolitan Museum of Art” by Howard Hibbard. This piece is a testament to the creative process of the exhibit.
Submission: “Exploring Mental Health Stigmatization Within AAPI Communities”
Student: Kayla Lankford
Program: Psychological science
Summary: Lankford’s work is a creative capstone of poems about mental health stigmatization in Asian American communities. Through her research, she created three poems, titled “Dad,” “War Cry” and “Recycling Day.”
Empirical works category
Submission: “Community Cultural Wealth: The Care and Resilience of Mothers in Poverty”
Student: Colleen Janey
Program: Social sciences
Summary: Janey’s project explores the lived experiences of women who have timed out of welfare. Her research reveals the resilience of mothers facing poverty and inequitable systems.
Submission: “Best Practices for Sharing Photovoice Research Outcomes”
Student: Shyane Masters and Brandon Warren-Fox
Program: Environmental studies
Summary: Masters and Warren-Fox discuss the best practices for sharing images online for sustained community engagement. Their findings emphasize social media's role and participatory approaches, aiding in digital dissemination and bridging researcher-participant gaps in conservation efforts.
Interpretive analysis
Submission: “From Mexicas to Ancient Aztecs, Classical Nahuas, and Modern Indios/as: Early Modern Criollo/a Constructions and Understandings of Indigenous New Spain”
Student: Hugo Daniel Peralta-Ramírez
Program: History
Summary: Peralta-Ramírez’s project analyzes early national narratives of Mexico that were constructed by Criollo intellectuals with Indigenous pasts.
Submission: “Howard the Duck vs. the Modernity of Man: A Critical Analysis on the Attitudes and Metaphors in Howard the Duck”
Student: Emilio Serrano
Program: Communication
Summary: Serrano’s work analyzes “Howard the Duck,” a comic created and published by Steve Gerber. The comic used satire to offer a social commentary of the times through the lens of an alien. Through genre and metaphoric rhetorical perspectives, Serrano argues that Gerber was a visionary who was frustrated with the medium and sought to point it out on the pages of “Howard the Duck.”
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