Copyright by Justin Thankachan Samuel 2019 The Dissertation Committee for Justin Thankachan Samuel Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students Committee: Richard J. Reddick, Supervisor Huriya Jabbar Victor B. Sáenz Suchitra V. Gururaj Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students by Justin Thankachan Samuel Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2019 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my family. To my father, Your curiosity, intellect, and creativity inspire me. To my mother, Your “go for it” attitude, tenacity, and resilience motivate me. To my sister, Your generous support, care, and encouragement uplift me. Acknowledgements On this mountaintop of completing a doctorate, I bow my life to my Creator who has provided me everything and more. He has truly blessed me with a fortified army of dedicated family, friends, and mentors who have pushed away negativity and filled my cup with positivity over many years. I thank our higher education leadership program and the department of educational leadership and policy at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) for admitting this Brown kid from humble Houston roots. You fostered my enthusiasm, and you honed my raw skills. I have evolved into a scholar-practitioner because of all my resources gained here. What an honor to pursue a personal passion project and earn a doctorate through it! I thank the program for not only allowing me to research Desi students but encouraged me to do so. On that note, I want to thank all the participants in the study for entrusting me with their beautiful stories. With your rich narratives, together we contributed much to higher education research. I cannot thank my committee enough for their guidance and direction of this study. First and foremost, many thanks to Dr. Rich Reddick for being the consummate role model and advisor for me – well before I entered the program and forever more. I cannot think of anyone else who would have been a better Chair. I thank Dr. Huriya Jabbar for being an organized, effective teacher and for showing me how to conduct sound qualitative research. Thank you to Dr. Victor Sáenz for showcasing genuine leadership and providing many opportunities for me to grow my leadership in the department. Finally, I have so much appreciation for Dr. Suchi Gururaj for our countless breakfast meetings and for being a consistent South Asian mentor for me on campus. v Although not on my committee, I also want to acknowledge Dr. Beth Bukoski for being a voice of reason, advice, and wisdom throughout my time in the program. While pursuing my doctorate, I worked full-time as a residence life professional at UT Austin. I first acknowledge and thank Dr. Hemlata Jhaveri, who served as executive director at the time and initially pushed me to pursue my doctorate in 2014. I also give thanks to Gloria Allen, Dr. Mylon Kirksy, Dr. Marilyn Tyus, and the staff members who have reported to me over the years for supporting me in every way as I chased this dream, even if it meant time away from the job. Last but certainly not least, I am indebted to Dr. Aaron Voyles, my supervisor for three out of the four years while pursuing the program. I provide many thanks to Aaron for being a sounding board, a listening ear, an ideator, and a writing consultant. Above all else, he was one of my biggest cheerleaders. I am fortunate to have been awarded for my student affairs work many times over, but I give credit to my past supervisors for catalyzing my passion and leading me in the right direction. I want to provide special thanks to Dr. Angel Wilson, Dr. Cat Sanders, and Dr. Tricia Zelaya-Leon for believing in me and letting me be me as a budding new professional. You serve as exemplary models of scholar-practitioners for me. I have dear friends in Austin who have made this journey pleasant and rewarding. I thank my classmates for all of their insight, critique, and encouragement. I want to especially thank Jorge Burmicky for being my friend and confidant through the highs and lows. Thank you also to Dr. Tracie Lowe and Dr. Ericka Roland for attending my proposal defense and offering much needed guidance and feedback on my research. I have had tremendous support from the South Asian community around the country, who supported me at every juncture. First, I want to provide special recognition to Merin John and OneWay for inviting me to “Faith and Chai” in 2018 and inspiring the vi title of this project. Secondly, I acknowledge Mr. Ali Khataw and Mrs. Nahid Khataw for their generous gift in support of my research and for continuing to support interfaith initiatives in Texas. Third, thank you to Sona Shah and Dr. Monica Thiagarajan for serving as my big sisters. Additionally, I want to also thank my Desi higher education and student affairs family, especially Dr. Mamta Accapadi, Dr. Smita Ruzicka, Dr. Amardeep Kahlon, Dr. Ajay Nair, and Dr. Vijay Kanagala, for blazing the trail before me. I stand on your shoulders. To all my friends and extended family, both near and far, thank you. Thank you for your grace as I retreated to focus on my dissertation. I cannot wait to give back to you. And finally, thank you to you, dear reader, for referencing and using my work. May you be touched by these stories as I was, and may you be inspired to do much more. Now, onward… vii Abstract Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students Justin Thankachan Samuel, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2019 Supervisor: Richard J. Reddick South Asian Americans (SAAs) are a burgeoning subpopulation in higher education settings. SAAs are not a monolithic group; they are affiliated with a variety of linguistic, immigration, socioeconomic, and spiritual identities. Furthermore, SAA spiritual identities have been increasingly minoritized and racialized in post-9/11 America, creating challenges unique to this group. The purpose of this study was to explore how SAA collegians experience a sense of belonging and navigate the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities on campus. The point-of-entry model for Asian American identity consciousness (Accapadi, 2012) and the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016) were used as conceptual frameworks to ground the study. 12 SAA college students participated in this qualitative, phenomenological inquiry. Interviews, photovoice technique, and journal entries were used as instruments to collect data. viii In considering the larger phenomenon of SAA collegians’ identity navigation and experience of belonging, three key findings emerged from the data. They included: (1) family serving as a primary source of support; (2) student organizations being a critical vehicle for spiritual identity exploration and belonging; and (3) a universal understanding that SAA solidarity is essential for community advocacy. Implications from the study were incorporated into a conceptual model and involved a need for further research on SAA collegians; institutional support for recruitment of SAA faculty and staff members and ongoing cultural competency training for higher education professionals; and promotion of community-building among SAA collegians. ix Table of Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xvi List of Figures ................................................................................................................ xvii Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study...............................................................................1 Who Are South Asian Americans? ..........................................................................2 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................3 Invisibility ....................................................................................................4 National Climate and Conversation .............................................................5 Racialization of Religion .............................................................................7 Research Questions ..................................................................................................9 Overview of Methodology .......................................................................................9 Scope of the Study .................................................................................................12 Delimitations ..............................................................................................12 Limitations .................................................................................................13 Assumptions ...............................................................................................14 Significance............................................................................................................14 Definition of Terms................................................................................................15