“So I think that back then if I had not gone to College Prep, I don’t think I could reach this far.”

Abstract

Refugees relocated to Western countries often experience adversity in regard to achieving a high quality of life in a Western context where financial security is generally linked to educational achievement. Many refugee youth arrive in the United States without the ability to speak, read, or write in English with little background in formal education making it hard for them to fully benefit from their time spent in public schools which results in decreased opportunities to advance into higher education. In 2020, qualitative interviews were conducted with four young women of the Karen ethnic group in Burma/Myanmar who had arrived in the U.S. when they were very young. They attended a college prep class taught by occupational therapy students and all attended college. They were asked to describe their experience with the class. Using thematic analysis, the following themes were identified: Confidence Lacking/Confidence Building, The Need for Doing, It’s a Hard Life, and Seeking Comfort in Communication and Support. It is clear that the group had a significant positive impact on the participants’ access to and success in college. Results indicate that educational groups designed to support access to higher education would be of benefit to former refugees in Western countries.