Toby S. Jenkins is Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Integrative Studies at George Mason University.

Introduction: Family First Toby S. Jenkins Section I: Family 1. It's a Family Affair: The Journey to College Billy Brown and Breanna Brown 2. Love Lessons from "The Hood" Ashley Hazelwood 3. Home Training: Family, Struggle, Resilience, and Everything in Between Anthony R. Keith, Jr. 4. Speaking Those Things That Be Not As Though They Are: The Role of Faith in Caregivers' Educational Hopes for Their Differently-Abled Son Michael and LaChan V. Hannon Section II: Mothers 5. Extending a Hand: Grateful My Grandmother Raised Me Ce Garrison 6. Mama Says: Activist, Pedagogue, and Feminist? Crystal L. Endsley with Clara Endsley 7. A Generation Makes a Difference: A Mother and Daughter Reflect on Life and College Joan Marie Giampa and Giovanna Bargh Fini 8. Mother May I? A Daughter of a Low-Income, First-Generation, Single Parent Household Goes to College Sinitra N. Johnson Section III: Fathers 9. Gifts from My Father Sondra Frank 10. Piece by Piece: Laying Down the Road Map to Purpose and Agency Edward J. Smith 11. Unconventional Genius: Father Knows Best Toby S. Jenkins Section IV: Community 12. Third Culture Students: Accounting for Family, Distance, and Separation of American-Born and Internationally-Raised U.S. College Students Aracelie L. Castro 13. Feminist Ujamaa: Transnational Feminist Pedagogies, Community, and Family in East Africa Marla L. Jaksch 14. Community and Family as Critical Sites for Transformative Education: Implications for Practice Toby S. Jenkins

This book explores social topics and experiences that illustrate the various ways in which the family unit influences and impacts college students. In the text, the authors not only explore family memories, but also challenge the traditional lack of inclusion and appreciation for "family" as knowledge producers and educational allies. This book spotlights the family unit as a critical factor within the educational experience-one that prepares, supports, and sustains educational achievement through both everyday simple lessons and critical and difficult family challenges. Through these experiences, families teach the lessons of survival that often help students to persist in college.