Life History and Identity

This article uses the life history method to chronicle the challenges of a low-income, first-generation student en route to college. The paper addresses three questions: how Manuel navigates college and related topics such as roommates, family, and money; how he creates social networks; and how he works with adults such as teachers and administrators. These questions help demonstrate how a student’s identity changes during the first year of college and how social capital functions in his life. The goal of the article is to further our understanding about social capital and the role it plays in the identity formation of an adolescent.