Resiliency: Beyond the Report Card

This research aimed to transform the commonly portrayed image of Latino immigrant \ud youth as ???at-risk??? to youth who exhibit resiliency. With this intention in mind, I took the \ud definition of resiliency and focused on how Latino immigrant youth overcome institutional bias and oppression. The current focus on the degrees of the existence of bias and oppression leaves these youth out of the resiliency research. As a result, their image is commonly portrayed in the ???at-risk??? literature. The existing literature is deeply rooted in the field of psychology, and, therefore, looks at innate individual traits as the primary identifiers of resilient individuals. This focus disregards structural aspects in furthering or minimizing the effects of adversity for some populations. Rooted in intersectionality and standpoint theories, this research illuminates the role of ???agency??? and structure as the key routes for fostering resilience among Latino immigrant male youth. To acquire this knowledge, 10 Latino immigrant male youth between the ages of 12-17 participated in journal-elicitation interviews to explain how they overcame institutional bias and oppression. The findings confirm my claim that these youth resemble ???resilience??? over ???risk.??? These youth pull from a ???resiliency stocks??? composed of four strategies that enable them to overcome institutional bias and oppression. These strategies include: embracing positive moments, thriving on encouragement, paying it forward, and sustaining aspirations. At the same time, the role of structure becomes significantly important in nurturing this resiliency and youth find that there are moments when structure ???takes its toll.??? As the data confirmed my claim that these youth are resilient, it also emphasizes the significance of structure in complementing their ???agency??? to result in the presence of resiliency.Sociolog