Research on Hmong-Americans started emerging in the late 1980s and continues to flourish to the present. Topics studied range from family dynamics and cultural transitions to student achievement and challenges. Little research has been conducted specifically on Hmong college students. More extensive and comprehensive research on the Hmong student experiences has been done at the pre-k-12 level. In the early 1980s, Hmong students began to enter the University of Wisconsin (UW) System. Statistics from the UW Office of Educational Policy and Analysis (2007) showed 8,316 Southeast Asian students attending the 13 four-year UW campuses, with 46 percent (3,773) degree completions from 1989-1999. Since the UW System does not break down the Asian/Southeast Asian categories by ethnicity, data on the number of Hmong students attending and graduating is unavailable. In conducting this research and constructing a theory about Hmong college students' matriculation, retention, and graduation from college, the author has examined key life experiences of 18 Hmong graduates from the UW System. Based on the evidence from in-depth interviews, participants identified five clusters of key life experiences. These clusters include: (1) Supportive family environment; (2) Social and academic support in a formal education environment; (3) Life lessons: embracing hardships and challenges; (4) Vision and drive for success that includes a college education; and (5) Financial support.