Ebony McGee
African American Success Foundation
 Grant Recipient

Success Summit Presentation
November 8, 2008
9 AM - Noon
Embassy Suites - 17th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Resilience among Successful African American
Mathematics and Engineering College Students

ABSTRACT: In this presentation, preliminary results from a study of 23 high-achieving African American mathematics and engineering college students will be discussed. Counternarrative and case-study methods were used to explore and analyze the students’ racial and mathematical identities as a window into characterizing the factors that accounted for their resilience.

Additionally, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) was administered to complement the exploration of the respondents’ emerging identities of being Black, particularly in academic arenas where African American presence is scarce.  Results reveal two main motivations for, and trajectories of, resilience: (1) succeeding to prove the racial stereotypes wrong and (2) succeeding to serve as role models for African American learners. A model of these two trajectories is presented. The model differentiates two forms of resilience, fragile and robust and has implications for further studies that integrate considerations of identity formation processes and the racialized nature of students’ mathematical and life experiences.