Muslim American Women in Community College: Navigating Multiple Identities

Community colleges have committed to serve the communities where they reside. Because of the ever-changing demographic of students, colleges must be ready to examine their policies, practices, and support structures to ensure their institution continues to serve all. Students facing multiple barriers to enroll, persist, and complete must be seen and supported holistically. Muslim students, and specifically Muslim women, often strongly identify as m embers of multiple groups based on their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, class, and family role. This intersectionality of identities provides a unique space to explore barriers and opportunities that community colleges must understand to better support a growing population of students. This qualitative research study use s p henomenology to examine the lived experiences of seven Muslim American women attending a community college in Minnesota . Through confidential interviews, these women shared their experiences, aspirations, fears, and ultimately their stories.