When Being Deaf is Centered: d/Deaf Women of Color's Experiences With Racial/Ethnic and d/Deaf Identities in College

Approximately 30% of d/Deaf students are successfully completing college; the reasons for such a low graduation rate is unknown (Destler & Buckly, 2011). Most research on d/Deaf college students lack racial/ethnic diversity within the study; thus, it is unclear how d/Deaf Students of Color are faring in higher education or what experiences they are having. It is no longer appropriate or socially just to conduct research that does not intentionally seek out the voices of d/Deaf Students of Color. Using a fundamental descriptive qualitative methodology, this paper sheds light on a population of students, d/Deaf Women of Color, who are often invisible within the mainstream higher education literature and expands our understand of the types of experiences they are having related to their racial/ethnic and d/Deaf identity while attending college.