Purpose-Driven Involvement for College Students of Color

Using data from a longitudinal study on a first-year program for college Students of Color, this study examines students’ purposeful engagement in extracurricular activities. We engage Bourdieu’s Social Reproduction Theory to understand how students’ existing capital and new forms of capital were acquired and nurtured through their student involvement. We explored what attracts students to organizational opportunities and what keeps them engaged in these organizations. Findings showed the importance of connections with other minoritized students in dominant spaces, organizational values and racial capital, and access to spaces that provided resources and professional development. Implications for research, practice, and theory are discussed.