According to the 2000 census, only 24% of adults aged twenty-five and older held a college degree in the United States (Bauman and Graf 2003:1). In a country that claims to provide the opportunity for those who work hard to achieve their dreams, many individuals struggle to attain success, often due to the social class into which they are born and its accompanying educational inequality. While in the recent past a college degree was a luxury and not necessary to secure a job, it is almost a requirement in today’s proverbial “land of opportunity.” This harsh fact continues to bring a population of first-generation college students to institutions of higher education across the United States in the hopes that specialized knowledge and a college degree will lead to a better-paying job and potential upward mobility.