The participant for this study was a mature, tenured African American female. She came
into the Academy after having experienced several careers in Higher Education Administration in
Student Support Services. She is of working class parents and grew up in a multi-ethnic
neighborhood in the Northeast. Of her four siblings, one other is a faculty member (also at a very
high intensive (VHI) research institution), another is a licensed clinical psychologist, one is a
mechanical engineer, and the other is a computer specialist. The participant, CAO, is divorced
with two adult children, both of whom have graduated from private colleges.
The researchers conducted a 120-minute interview. The interview took place off campus
in the home of the participant where the sessions were audio taped and subsequently transcribed
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and analyzed resulting in interview data that was compiled into 16 single-spaced pages (7699
words) in the final completed transcription.
The interview was guided by questions the researchers developed based upon a review of
the literature. The participant shared in the data analysis process allowing the researchers and the
participant to co-construct the conceptualizations.