Resumen de Pride and Promise: the enactment and salience of identity among first-generation student veterans in engineering
Catherine Mobley, Joyce B. Main
Our multi-method qualitative study examined how educational experiences of first-generation student veterans inengineering (FGSVE) in the United States are shaped by their first-generation, engineering, and military identities. Ourstudy explores the extent to which FGSVEs’ first-generation identities are central to the FGSVEs, as compared to theirmilitary and engineering identities. We also investigate how these identities are related to one another and whether theyinfluence the FGSVEs’ engineering education experiences. Our qualitative data were derived from 15 in-depth interviewsof FGSVEs conducted at four institutions in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. Our case studies of four of these FGSVEs reflectseveral themes pertaining to identity salience, including: ‘‘The military was a bridge beyond first-generation status and intoengineering;’’ ‘‘The military provided access to higher education and an engineering career will provide financial security;’’‘‘There is a dissonance between my first-generation, engineering, and military identities;’’ and ‘‘The military was both adetour and a necessary pathway into engineering education.’’ The results reveal that the FGSVEs’ engineering and militaryidentities were more central to their current experiences in engineering education than their first-generation status. All ofthese identities, however, were a source of pride in that the FGSVEs felt a sense of accomplishment for serving in themilitary, pursuing a college degree, and succeeding in a challenging major like engineering. For these students, theirmilitary service and engineering pursuits both offered promise for upward mobility. The results have implications for thedesign and implementation of programs for first-generation students in engineering and for student veterans in general.
