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While the vertical transfer process and culturally responsive approaches to education have been studied extensively, few scholars have addressed these two areas of concern simultaneously, particularly within higher education contexts. This study explores what cultural responsiveness means and how it matters for low-income community college (CC) students aspiring toward STEM careers and transferring to STEM majors at a local university. As part of a bridge program, students received two STEM faculty mentors, one faculty mentor from the community college and the other from the local university, beginning in their last year of enrollment at the community college. Each STEM mentor was trained in culturally responsive mentoring, and their mentorship extended post-transfer. Students participated in focus groups to share their experiences. The findings reveal that specific aspects of the community college students’ identities, primarily their race and language, were relevant as aspects of culture that mattered for their STEM aspirations. The findings also show that cultural responsiveness in mentoring and support outside the classroom are important steps toward humanizing STEM spaces, but they are wholly insufficient when not paired with extensive culturally responsive efforts in STEM teaching and within the curriculum to improve the internal classroom climate for those with racialized identities. 

This analysis reveals the informal instrumental and socio-emotional support that non-traditional (e.g. Latinx, Black, Indigenous, lower-income, and first-generation) college students receive from family members to combat experiences of marginalization and contribute towards their self-efficacy. Family support can be particularly important for underrepresented undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) students who have been shown to have higher risks of dropping out of their program and experience lower levels of success indicators (e.g. sense of belonging, self-concept, and STEM identity) compared to their white and Asian peers. Therefore, it is important to further investigate the nuances of family support contributing to non-traditional student retention and success. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, we used open-ended questions during focus groups with community college transfer students to gain their experiences with challenges and feelings of belonging in college and STEM. This article investigates the value family support holds for students in surviving STEM challenges by extending family to include romantic partners and extended family as well as applying the funds of knowledge framework to community college transfer students.