In Spite of... Urban Latina/o Leaders' Perspectives on Undergraduate Perseverance and Successful Degree Completion

College completion rates among Latina/o undergraduate students represents a crisis in our national educational system. Latina/o students are seeking higher education, but experiencing multiple barriers which inhibit degree completion. This qualitative case study offers an opportunity to explore components of degree completion of Latina/o graduates from Midwestern urban communities. Latino Critical Race Theory was utilized to explore the responses of local graduates and their perceptions of institutional components that support their degree completion. Implications illuminated the importance of families as allies, institutional transformation, and belongingness matters.