Work Hard

Abstract

Chapter 4 describes first-generation students in a Work Hard geography. These academically engaged students made not only classes and homework central to their daily lives, but their friendships and social lives also were often rooted in either academic work and/or nonathletic extracurricular interests. Work Hard students report close faculty relationships and strong friendships, often with those from similar demographic backgrounds, but they are also lonely outside those spheres, avoiding the high-status social hubs of campus. Most students in this geography came through Summer Bridge, and much of their campus engagement is in reaction to the racism, classism, and sexism they feel and observe on campus. They have created friendship communities that provide affirmation and support and crafted geographies that link their social, extracurricular, and academic priorities. The overlap of these spaces provides a buffer but does not connect these students to wealthier peers.