Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of Latinas who engaged in an informal mentoring relationship and the impact of these relationships as it related to their pursuit of a postsecondary education. Methodology. The researcher conducted a qualitative research approach to the study. This study was a replication study. The participants in this study were 8 Latinas enrolled at a postsecondary institution with more than 60 semester or 90 quarter units completed towards their college degree. The participants were interviewed individually utilizing 14 semistructured interview questions which were used in the original study by Dr. Maria C. Ayón in 2013. Similar to the study conducted by Dr. Ayón, the interview questions investigated influencing factors, mentoring strategies, and the role of mentors in relation to academic success, high school completion, and college enrollment. Findings. The researcher used a phenomenological research approach. The examination of qualitative data from the 8 interviews, revealed four primary themes and various subthemes within the primary themes. The findings included (a) benefits from engaging in an informal mentoring relationship, (b) characteristics of mentors, (c) advising support, and (d) barriers Latinas experience in relation to establishing a mentoring relationship. Conclusions. The data and findings from this study concluded that adolescent informal mentoring is effective among young women in influencing them to complete high school and pursue a postsecondary education. The benefits were emotional support, academic support, college awareness, and lifetime relationships. Mentors were supportive, resourceful, enthusiastic, and motivating. Advising support provided further opportunities. Recommendations. (a) Conduct a study that explores university relationships with Latino/a families and school districts to provide access for higher education; (b) extend research using longitudinal studies on mentoring programs for students in California; (c) compare individuals who engaged in mentoring relationships to those who did not participate; (d) conduct a study on the retention of the Latino/a college students and factors associated with completion of an undergraduate degree; (e) investigate the experiences of first-generation college students using a narrative approach; (f) conduct a longitudinal qualitative study that examines resiliency after a decade to understand college-going resiliency.