Hmong American Students Who Majored in STEM in Two-Year Colleges in the Midwest: Experiences Before, During, and Outside of College Which Contribute to Their Development as Global Citizen

Our colleges and universities recognize the need to prepare graduates as global citizens, especially in STEM fields. It is vital that future scientists, researchers, and medical professionals possess global competencies, show compassion, and are active citizens. Absent from the literature is research on the experiences of racially/ethnically underrepresented students in two-year colleges who major in STEM as they develop as global citizens. Especially, since racially/ethnically underrepresented groups, including Hmong American students, are marginalized in higher education, it is important to understand how these students navigate structural and institutional characteristics of STEM programs on predominantly white campuses while they pursue their degrees.;This qualitative study explored the experiences of a group of successful Hmong American students from two-year colleges in the Midwest where they majored in STEM who became global citizens. The research design included two rounds of interviews with ten participants, in which these global citizens were asked about social responsibility and global civic engagement. Three grounded theories that emerged from stories of Hmong American participants are included in the experiences of these students before, during, and outside of college that led to their development as global citizens. These theories have important implications for two-year colleges administrators and faculty as well as future research.