Stephany Platero is a 19-year-old sophomore at Queensborough Community College. She was born in the United States but spent her early childhood with her grandparents in Ecuador. She is a psychology major, and during her three semesters at QCC, she has developed a broader interest in social psychology. This interest has motivated her to focus her research on first-generation college students’ perspectives and academic persistence through a social and cultural capital framework. This topic closely parallels her experience as a first-generation college student. She hopes to develop a more comprehensive framework on the challenges that the typical first-generation student encounters.