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Abstract

Studies have proliferated illustrating Black women’s experiences on campus with sense of belonging (Haynes, 2019), Black women’s identity development (Porter & Byrd, 2021; Porter & Dean, 2015; Porter et al, 2020), and connections between coping strategies and navigating non-Black environments (Apugo, 2019; Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014; Jones & Pritchett-Johnson, 2018). There remains room in the discussion to focus on how programmatic interventions such as student leadership development activities specifically aid Black women college student development. This qualitative narrative inquiry study aimed to examine thriving among Black women college students in leadership positions to understand how they navigate life at a predominately White institution. Using Black feminist thought as a theoretical framework to center Black women’s student leader narratives (Collins, 2000) and utilizing Schreiner’s (2010a) thriving quotient, a theoretical model to analyze students’ sense of thriving, a deeper understanding of perceptions of thriving was gained. Four Black women college student leaders participated in this study. The following themes emerged from the findings: Reflecting on Being a Black Woman and Student Leader, Managing Challenges and Obstacles to Thriving, Aiming for Academic Thriving as a Goal, Reflecting on Intrapersonal Thriving and the Leadership Journey, and Building Community and Interpersonal Thriving. The findings support the core belief asserted by Black feminist thought that Black women are the authors of their own experiences and understand how to communicate their needs, wants, and desires. Additionally, the study mostly supported Schreiner’s thriving quotient as the participants largely agreed with the themes of thriving on a college campus being tied to academic thriving, intrapersonal thriving, and interpersonal thriving. Black women college student leaders rely on the community to support their sense of thriving (Apugo, 2019; Haynes, 2019; Hotchkins, 2017; Roland, 2021). Implications include student affairs administrators considering thriving as a qualitative measure of student success in their assessment of campus programming and assessing campus programs to see a demographic breakdown of students participating in student leadership activities. By focusing on how Black women conceptualize thriving, this study adds to the literature on Black women narrating their own experiences without deficit language or stigmatization. This study can contribute to building literature on Black women college students using Black feminist thought as a theoretical framework or lens.

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