Chapter 6: A Culture of Care: Jamaican Female College Athletes and Yosso's Cultural Wealth Model

This chapter examines the experiences of Jamaican female track and field athletes who attended a college or university in the US through the lens of Yosso's Cultural Wealth Model as well as Critical Race Theory. Research has shown that all student-athletes face the pressure of having academic and athletic responsibilities and obligations. However, some differences can make these athletes' experiences unique, such as being from a different country, being of minority status (by gender, sexual orientation, or color), and even attending a predominantly white institution. As a former college athlete, it is essential to highlight how Jamaican Female Track and Field Athletes used the six capitals found in Yosso's model to negotiate their college or university campus in the US. This research shows that while these female athletes struggled in a myriad of different ways, navigating this new environment while understanding and leveraging their capital, allowed them to successfully shatter some of the barriers that were present on their respective journeys while also finding ways to share the knowledge they gained with the women who came after them as well as their cultural capital.