Belonging, Navigation, and Meaning-Making: First-Generation Students’ Lived Experiences in Opportunity Programs at Selective Liberal Arts Institutions

This qualitative study examines how first-generation undergraduate students experience opportunity programs at three selective, predominantly White liberal arts colleges. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, focus groups, observations, and document review, the study centers students’ emic perspectives to explore how program participation shapes belonging, institutional navigation, and perceptions of support. Findings indicate that opportunity programs function as critical developmental contexts, fostering relational validation, resource fluency, and identity affirmation while mediating broader campus climates. The study contributes to student development scholarship by centering students’ emic insights into how opportunity programs shape belonging, navigation, and institutional meaning-making.