With a growing number of students of color attending institutions of higher education, there is an urgent need for comprehensive and structured support services to ensure their success and well-being. Under the new administration, support for students of color on campus is under political scrutiny, leaving many students concerned about their ability to complete their collegiate education. Institutional leadership, faculty, and staff are questioning how best to support their students. This phenomenon is not new; I began to notice these needs as a freshman in college at a predominantly white institution in 2016.
As an African immigrant to the United States, I faced several barriers and challenges in pursuing higher education. As a legal resident yet non-citizen, I did not qualify for many institutional merit-based scholarships. My parents, unfamiliar with the U.S. college application process, left me—the eldest of three children—to navigate it alone. Despite my lack of interest in the field, they also expected me to pursue a STEM career, shaping my high school education accordingly. This limitation hindered my ability to explore other career options, further complicating my pursuit of higher education in a field I truly enjoyed. Consequently, I began my freshman year unsupported, lost, and unhappy.
However, support programs enabled me to complete college and enjoy my experience despite the problematic home environment that shaped my college years. As a scholar in the Undergraduate Success Scholars program, I received peer-to-peer mentoring from first-generation and racial/ethnic minority students, career and academic counseling, networking opportunities, and personal and professional development support. This program helped me raise my GPA from 2.30 to 3.50, gain the confidence to change my major, learn about student debt management, and become a campus leader.
The Multicultural Center was not just a venue for cultural events—it was a sanctuary where students of color could share experiences and receive guidance from faculty and staff of color. This center introduced me to lifelong friends who helped me navigate challenging coursework and supported me in my darkest moments. It provided me with my first job in college. It quite literally saved my life when my supervisor encouraged me to seek counseling after a suicide attempt and hospitalization due to inadequate self-care. Furthermore, the center helped me discover my passion for public speaking, leading to a $500 scholarship from an oratorical competition. Without these programs, I would not have graduated.
Despite these crucial support systems, I still noticed institutional gaps. The percentage of Black students at my university declined from 5% to under 3% between my freshman and senior years. Black male students, in particular, faced alarming dropout and transfer rates. There was only one Black male fraternity on campus and a glaring lack of Black male faculty and staff. Efforts to establish a Black male mentorship group did not prevent declining enrollment. Since Black women are currently the highest educated demographic in the U.S. while Black men remain among the least educated, the first recommendation is to establish Black male mentorship and scholarship programs focused on recruitment and retention.
Additionally, as an immigrant, my scholarship options were severely limited, making college affordability a challenge. Many first-generation programs do not account for immigrants whose parents earned their degrees abroad. For example, the college application process in Ghana differs vastly from the U.S. process. Despite experiencing many of the same struggles as first-generation American students, I did not qualify for such programs. The second recommendation is to broaden the definition of “first-generation college student” to include immigrants whose parents obtained their degrees outside the U.S.
Finally, students of color are at higher risk of depression and anxiety diagnoses in college, yet many avoid campus mental health resources due to cultural stigmas. Furthermore, campus counseling services often have excessive wait times. When I sought counseling following hospitalization, I had to wait two weeks for an initial consultation and another three weeks for an appointment. When I finally saw a counselor, she was culturally insensitive, suggesting I move out of my parents’ home without understanding that my financial constraints, my nonverbal autistic brother’s needs, and my mother’s declining health due to Lewy Body Dementia made that impossible. My final recommendation is threefold: improve language around counseling accessibility, reduce wait times by hiring more counselors and student-trainee therapists, and implement mandatory cultural sensitivity training for campus counselors.
Ensuring the success of students of color in higher education requires a commitment to structured support systems. By addressing these key recommendations, institutions can foster a more inclusive and equitable environment for all students to thrive.