The COVID-19 Pandemic (2019- 2023) has blurred the lines between Traditional and Non-Traditional students at Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs). This research will focus on how COVID-19 has impacted the students and how they define themselves as either traditional or non-traditional students at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). JCSU defines Non-Traditional as any person over the age of 25 years old and considers them as “Adult Learners". However, JCSU does not have a specific definition for their Traditional students but considers anybody who takes classes during the day and that comes directly from high school and to the age of 24. This research will look for the barriers HBCU students have developed from the COVID-19 pandemic? Also, what are HBCU students labelling themselves between traditional or non-traditional students? After COVID-19, there are students that do not fit in the labels developed by colleges and universities. This may be because barriers such as work-school-life balance, financial burdens, economic disparities, diminished resources on campus, and the lack of peer/professor interactions all hinders relationships with students. This research will identify and provide ways to build a better connection between faculty and students, who the students are now and the responsibilities they may have from the result of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the end of this research, the researchers will address the barriers students encounter, ways the university could understand students' journeys, and a new term for students that may not fit in traditional or non-traditional labeling.

There’s value and healing power that comes with all kinds of art - more specifically, there’s power in public art, and art that comes from our very own communities. Previous research discusses the scientific ways in which art is useful in healing, looking at a more generalized view of art, like dance, drawing, writing, painting, etc. Beyond scientific research, much of the research that has been done is on the history and timeline of murals, looking at a specific moment in time, and the politics of this kind of art. This research, rather, looks at two murals located in the City of La Puente, California, a primarily Chicana/o/Latine neighborhood, and dives into the potential this kind of art can have on healing. Ultimately, I seek to further understand if and how the process of creating murals in community, by the community, and for the community has an effect on healing. This will be done through pláticas and through activities where individuals have the opportunity to create and be creative both in community with others and individually.

In the California Community College system, undocumented students face significant challenges in pursuing higher education. These difficulties primarily stem from limited access to financial aid and employment opportunities. This study aims to delve into and amplify the experiences of these students, who confront barriers such as restricted access to the Cal Grant and consequently resort to "under the table" jobs. The study addresses two key research questions: (1) How do undocumented students in California community colleges navigate financial challenges when their access to financial aid is confined to the Cal Grant? (2) What impact does "under the table" employment have on undocumented students’ retention, transfer, and graduation trajectories? Using in-depth interviews, the Chicana/Latina feminist methodology of Platicas, and an intersectionality lens, this paper aims to illuminate the substantial hardships undocumented students face while navigating the higher education system. The findings from this study will shed light on the labor that undocumented students undertake to sustain their academic endeavors, emphasizing the urgent need for more inclusive financial aid policies, equitable labor opportunities, and increased institutional support across courses, services, and classroom experiences.

Research demonstrates that students identifying as Black with diverse abilities, as opposed to their White counterparts suffer from disparities in educational outcomes in community college spaces. This demographic is constrained by a scarcity of representative research data, recognizing the intersectional identities of race and ableism. Using qualitative methods such as walking interviews and open-ended interviews, this study aims to evaluate first-generation college students (FGCCS) between the ages of 18 and 45 pursuing an undergraduate degree at a community college identifying as Black and disabled from 2010 to present concentrating on a LA County community college. Hypothesizing navigation within dominant hierarchies of academic spaces cultivating discrimination, students circumvent these constraints imposed by socially and culturally constructed identities while finding ways to recover control. Additionally, navigating and negotiating college spaces in higher education describes a type of mental gymnastics that identifying as Black and disabled must perform to survive American society. It is imperative to advocate for their interests by challenging the current narratives, recognizing the intersectionality of dis/ability with forms of oppression, and raising awareness of how it contributes to conflict in education and the exacerbating mental health issues and psychopathology it generates. This research aims to expand the scholarship gap in Disability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit) in understanding significant interventions in comprehensive dis/abilities and mental health-related disparities or improvements in the large number of Black students with diverse abilities in college spaces. Keywords: Black students, disability, community college, race, higher education, DisCrit, critical disability studies, developmental disabilities, mental health