Using validation theory as a conceptual framework this study sought to better understand the experiences of immigrant-origin students who were born outside of the United States (first-generation immigrant-origin students) attending a rural community college. Data on people who have immigrated to the United States show that immigrant-origin peoples make up an increasingly large portion of the total population of the country (American Immigration Council, 2020; Budiman, 2020). Data also show that these same people make up an increasingly large portion of the college-going population in the United States, and that these students are more likely to attend community colleges than other types of institutions (Suarez-Orozco et al, 2019c; Teranishi et al., 2011). Current research on immigrant-origin community college students has tended to focus on students attending large urban institutions, and yet immigrant populations generally are increasingly settling in rural areas like Garden City, Kansas (Stull & Ng, 2016). Using semi-structured interviews with eight first-generation immigrant-origin students, this study revealed how external regulations regarding residency status has cascading negative impacts on student life, limiting access to services and programming and amplifying existing minoritization. This study also found that validating experiences with key institutional agents were present, focused particularly around creating a sense of welcome. Validation, which situates students successfully within the academic context as valuable contributors and creators of knowledge was, however, less present. Based on extant literature demonstrating key institutional agents can play an important role in the validation of immigrant-origin students, activating student agency and leading to increased student success outcomes, the interplay between validation by key institutional agents and student agency and wellbeing were also explored. In this study, the lack of academic validation present leads to implications for practitioners and researchers seeking to support or understand agency of immigrant-origin students. [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.]