How do immigrant and second-generation West-African women conceptualize and navigate economic and social class hierarchies in US higher education and workplace contexts? I argue that women from this demographic view education as a crucial variable that facilitates their social and economic integration into the larger US society. I conduct in-depth interviews with 12 first and second-generation West African women who currently reside on the East Coast of the United States for work, education, or both. I then analyze these interviews for commonalities and divergences using MaxQDA qualitative analysis software. I find that women cite familial and personal influences and histories as motivators for the social and economic decisions they make. This project fits into existing feminist, immigration, and sociological scholarship.