Urban community colleges serve as an agent of democracy, provide open access, and a variety of affordable program options, which attracts a rising number of African American single mothers. The attempt to manage the tremendous responsibility of child rearing single handedly, while in college, increases the dropout rate and is a known factor that hinders academic success in college. However, many single parents overcome numerous barriers that threaten persistence and academic achievement when the appropriate support and resources are available, but the literature rarely documents their experiences. This study acquired individual accounts of the experiences of single African American mothers who graduated from an urban community college in the Mid-Atlantic region to understand the motivating factors that contributed to their academic success despite the many challenges faced throughout their educational journey. Bandura's Social Cognitive Learning theory provided the empirical support and conceptual context for this study that gave insight into how students learn in social environments and how self-efficacy supports academic success. The researcher used a qualitative phenomenological approach to conduct in-depth interviews of five subjects to understand the "essence" or theme of their experience. This study asked essential questions, explored the data to add to the foundation of knowledge on this topic, and offered suggestions for practice and further studies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]