As we interviewed the freshman F.O.C.U.S. group we found out which supports that students receive at California State University, Monterey Bay, and which have been the key factor of first-generation students attending and remaining here. Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), F.O.C.U.S Summer Bridge Program, peer support from other students attending CSUMB, faculty, and staff mentoring seem that to have impacted these students in a very positive way.

    One interviewee mentioned that the summer bridge program and EOP were one of the main reasons for him deciding to stay here:

Well F.O.C.U.S. and this college going through the FOCUS program I don't think I would really like the school. I don't know if I would of like really like this school. I would of probably had thoughts of transferring by now or started on transferring to a different school if it not had been for the FOCUS and that's the Summer Bridge program with the EOP program at the school. That was I think it might had been a six week or four week program that they pretty much prepared us for life on campus and I got a sense of community by being in that and the friends and the family that I got from being in that program I keep in contact with these people. Its cool. It's like a little support net. Its very good. (Joseph)

     In "Helping First-Generation Minority Students Achieve Degrees" by R. Richardson and Elizabeth Skinner, they state, " Student strategies for coping with the university environment were aided by special services, whether those programs were designated for minorities or for disadvantaged, unprepared, or non-traditional students." The first-generation students that we interviewed felt that they never could have made it and would not have been here at this university without the support of these special services.

Jason Joseph said the following regarding his peer mentor:
He like, I can say he's always on my case, but I know he's doing it cause he cares about me and he wants me to succeed in life, so he always looking out for me. My other brother too, and a couple of my friends they tell, " Hey you know lets work on our homework and stuff." Like if were slacking of once in a while nah, lets just work on our homework and we will do that later and stuff.

    In several of our interviews we saw how friends are also part of the support that students have in this school. Many students who offer mutual support met during their Summer Bridge program, demonstrating that a university support program often helps students establish a peer support network that will last throughout their college career. Students see how their peers are doing, or have ednured the same struggles and join together to help each other. One student mentions,

I meet new people here and stuff and I made new friends. And from Summer Bridge I continued talking to them and hanging out with them and they showed me that they're real true friends and stuff. They've been there for me in good and bad times. (Vargas)

    Through these networks students have gained and blossomed to a maturity level where they feel secure and they know they can succeed in a four-year institution. They have the support that they need and will need through their continuation of a higher education.

    As we were going through the interviews we also found out that support programs are not the ony key factor for students staying here in CSUMB, but also the experiences they have had or are getting here. Some students mentioned that they were having good experiences, they were having fun and meeting a lot of people, and that the classes were great, especially the class size. One student elaborates on this subject:

As far as my classes I like the teachers here because they are a little more open and their not as closed mindedOn the whole it seems like the teachers are trained not kind of think like that and be more opened to students and respect their students. That I can just be me. The main reason that I picked this college was because it was small and as an individual I would just shine out and you know that has pretty much happened so far. You know I don't really have to act a certain way to be down or whatever. (Joseph)

    After reading through our transcripts and remembering our interviews we realized that the class size and the professors were definitely a key factor for students remaining here. Many like the way the classes are structured and believe they get the attention that they need from their professors.