– Collectively, their individual history and positioning in COSMOS next to forms of engagement with science and resources they had access to through their mentorship led to the envisioning of new social futures as college goers and for some as insiders to science.
– Once in college, Edric opted out of science to complete a college degree in ways financially manageable. In his case, the system failed him. His position as a first college bound youth struggling financially cut off potential navigations into STEM programs at Universities possibly more congruent with his figured worlds of science and identity in science.
– While all four students described themselves as potential college goers who will “…do [it] and be successful” in the words of Brian, only two of the four had completed their bachelor degree at the last point of data collection in 2007. It had little to do with science but primarily with the educational system and the positioning of youth within them and in society.
– Hannah, who envisioned a career in science and pursued an education in a first class science engineering college was successful in the end, landing a science career she always dreamed of. In many ways, her trajectory in STEM aligned well with the pipeline model that suggests that an early and enduring interest in science, next to a strong academic standing are key for making it all the way through.
– Brian failed science in the second tier University he attended which made him reconsider his options, opting for a career that seemed more readily accessible to him and more closely aligned with his interests.
– The contextual, economical, and political circumstances Edric struggled with made it impossible for him to seek out another university that could have offered him the courses he needed to complete a STEM degree. He did not have the flexibility and financial means to put up with delays that would stretch his time in college. He found himself tangled up in a complex matrix of oppression that was thin in terms of actual opportunities in STEM, which in turn, seriously constrained his movement and eventual pursuit of STEM. Similar circumstances led to a moving in and out of a University and community college for Joe who worked while studying.