In higher education, student success is a focal point of policy discussions and decisions. The definition of student success is intermittently defined through graduation rates, academic achievements, and job placements — but who is setting parameters for this spectrum? Student voices should be a critical pillar in defining success as higher education stands in a volatile and mutable state amid a post-COVID world. This qualitative study uses a convenience sample to interview students at the University of Texas at Austin who self-select as historically excluded racial identities (namely Latinx, Black, Indigenous students) to assess the individuals’ definitions of student success. Students discuss whether identity spaces support their success and to what extent. For this study, the use of the term identity space refers to a physical or non-physical setting on the college campus that recognizes and celebrates the marginalized identities of those who occupy the space. Using gathered data from interviews, conclusions are drawn conjoint with the growing literature. This presentation argues that students should have a voice in how the university defines success and; whether one believes in the institutional or individual definition, identity spaces contribute to the success of historically excluded identities in higher education. The growing argument that centers around identity discourse among the university, politics, and mass media fortifies the exigence of this research.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many students across the globe. The focus of this study was for middle and high school students in the Midwest. Students had to adapt their education to be given either in-person, online, or a hybrid of both. The lab had interviewed 20 community prevention educators to better understand how the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted their work. The questions asked in the interviews ranged from the prevention educator’s job responsibilities and what their prevention education delivery method was before, during, and after the school lockdowns and pandemic environment took place. The study aimed to understand how COVID-19 affected the delivery of sexual assault and domestic violence prevention education in middle and high schools. A secondary content analysis was conducted and found that almost half of the interviews revealed concerns of a lack of engagement with students, educators found teaching off their devices difficult, and the limited time they received to teach material. The benefits within this study were not consistent overall. An example of the benefits would be the usage of pre-recorded videos, polls and engagement within the presentations. Some educators reported no concerns with the delivery of education regarding sexual assualt and domestic violence. Interview answers suggest reteaching this generation of students sexual assault and domestic violence prevention education more thoroughly.

Experiences of adversity in childhood and adolescence can have lifelong consequences in academic and social contexts. When previously studied, adversity subtypes are usually weighted equally without looking at their differences or factoring in community and familial factors that may moderate these experiences. Furthermore, a holistic approach is needed to capture the resilience of the underrepresented population of first-generation and transfer students. This study aims to uplift these students’ experiences while learning more about the developmental underpinnings of adversity and protective factors that may interact with their challenges as first-generation and transfer students. We are actively recruiting college students for our IRB-approved survey to learn more about their past and present experiences. By utilizing multiple measurement tools such as modified version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences scale and the Social and Emotional Resources Inventory, we aim to provide the prevalence of adversity subtypes and protective factors within the student population and potential mediators among adversity subtypes. Incorporating a holistic approach to identify protective factors in a diverse student population may help inform campus programs, guide interventions, and promote trauma-informed educational practices.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused many disruptions in people's daily lives. One of those disruptions was shifting from being able to socialize and interact with others to isolating from everyone around you. Being in isolation challenged people of all ages, specifically young children. The majority of current preschool-aged children experienced almost two years of isolation from others due to the pandemic. At the time, now preschool-aged children were very young babies and toddlers. As of now, we are in the post-pandemic era and are transitioning back to “normalcy.” Preschool-aged children are facing challenges in their social-emotional skills due to being isolated at a critical time in their development. This project aims to explore teachers’ perceptions of preschool-age children's social-emotional development post-pandemic in the classroom. For this oral presentation, the literature review examines existing research about (a) the Covid 19 Pandemic, (b) the impact Covid- 19 has had on young children, ( C ) the importance of social-emotional skills and well-being, (d) teacher’s thoughts on social skills, and (e) Identifying Gaps in Social Emotional Skills.