“…Underrepresented minorities-such as people of color, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities-continue to face challenges in pursuing and succeeding in STEM fields (Beasley & Fischer, 2012;NCSES, 2023). These individuals are less likely to enroll in college (Bagde et al, 2016;Bouck & Park, 2018;Walpole, 2003), graduate with a STEM degree (Bettencourt et al, 2020;Castro et al, 2022;Griffith, 2010), participate in highimpact practices during their undergraduate studies (McDaniel & Van Jura, 2022;Soria & Stebleton, 2012;Sweat et al, 2013), or co-author research while still undergraduates (Grineski et al, 2018). Furthermore, people from historically marginalized communities encounter additional academic obstacles, such as limited access to resources, inadequate academic support, and harmful stereotypes (Francis et al, 2019;Harper, 2012;Museus & Jayakumar, 2012;Stebleton & Soria, 2013).…”