Introduction
Whether one belongs is a fundamental question. The state of being in which a person is unsure about the quality of their social bonds within a community has been referred to as “belonging uncertainty.” For students who identify as Black, belonging uncertainty can threaten social identity and lead to racial disparities in achievement. Many career pathway programs strategize to support academic interests among Black students; however, how they function to improve students’ sense of belonging on college campuses even outside of their pathway program’s professional area of focus remains understudied.
Methods
Using the theoretical framework of belonging uncertainty, we explored how Black undergraduate students in a medical pathway program navigated belonging uncertainty at a university where Black students are disproportionately represented. We utilized an iterative, inductive qualitative analysis of small group interviews to explore how ten participants mitigated belonging uncertainty, including students still planning to pursue a profession in healthcare and students planning to pursue a profession outside of healthcare.
Results
We identified three major themes of belonging uncertainty: navigating different racial, class, and social environments; creating community through shared experiences; and engaging in mentorship and high yield programming.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that while belonging uncertainty threatens the overall success and well-being of Black undergraduate students, students mitigate it by fostering community with individuals with shared experiences. We suggest a need for pathway programs to revisit their models for more intentional inclusion of community building as a component of pathway programs equally important to, if not more critical than, specific professional focuses.