Fostering support for Female Community College Students
running the support group did not always align. Fortunately, this realization resulted in the creation of a more studentcentered endeavor. The group was originally recruited by advertising in the required first- year experience courses. All first-year students are required to attend four campus programming events; participation in BCCFF was considered to be an event for that purpose. Professor Gonzalez-Matthews along with an on-campus female social worker facilitated the BCCFF meetings. Dr. Ingram, although a coauthor of the grant, was not present at any of the meetings because we felt a male presence would detract from the mission of the group, which was to foster a sense of community among women on campus. Using a tenet from Relational-culture theory will be the basis for creating connections. Therefore, when people contribute to the development of growth-fostering relationships, they grow as a result of their participation in such relationships (Comstock, Hammer, Strentzsch, Cannon, Parsons, & Salazar, 2008). As a method of addressing the relational experiences of women we formed the foundation of our program on this idea. Our original vision for the support group consisted of 12 participants who met regularly for workshops and group discussions. The purpose of the workshops was to expose the participants to women of color who were leaders within their campus community while also providing a forum in which discussions allowed participants to share their stories and develop relationships with others in a healing atmosphere. The focus group was capped at 12 students; hoping to foster a sense of intimacy, community and trust among participants. It was the intention of the mentors that the established trust among the cohort would encourage sharing; little did we know that the women who joined the BCCFF had needs and interests that would pull the project in another direction. The first group meeting was scheduled to be a discussion of the overall mission of BCCFF and tips on maintaining existing relationships while in college. The group of 10 women who attended the first meeting immediately shared their excitement for a female oriented support group. While a lesson on maintaining relationships while in college was planned, the women began sharing their own experiences and tips for coping with the difficulties of maintaining outside relationships while pursing a college degree. Their excitement in connecting to one another was welcome and rather than stop the flow of discussion to refocus them on a handout on healthy relationships, we instead facilitated the conversation rather than leading it. Following our ninety-minute meeting, the women in the group expressed their gratefulness at having a safe space to share their frustrations and concerns. Each of our subsequent meetings followed a similar path; regardless of whether a didactic lesson was planned, the women wanted to discuss and share their experiences. They talked not only about school but their relationships with family members who did not quite understand their lives as students, their relationships with their partners, the classes that they struggled in, and the financial hardship they found themselves in. Many also spoke of their experiences being young and unwed mothers enrolled in college. The women who had attended the first meeting began bringing their friends to meetings, thereby breaking the cap we had originally set. As we came to realize, this was a group that was hungry for intimacy with other women on campus and they did not need much prompting to open up and share with the group. Professor Gonzalez along with the assistance of 2 female psychological counselors was able to offer their experiences to participants. As successful female professionals they were able to role model what strategies are essential in order to achieve academic and even life achievements. It is important for these women to share self-protective strategies that combat societal issues (racism, sexism, classism, etc.) Additionally, peer students were able to contribute to the discussions by offering insights to other participants with similar circumstances. Understanding the obstacles and solutions offered much relief for the source of pain in many participants’ lives. The conversations were extremely important for creating relationships between faculty/staff and students as well as increasing social interaction between students. 52