Broad participation of researchers with unique lived experiences and backgrounds that participate in STEM research enhances productivity and creativity for the entire team and field.

MPC participated in the B2B ACCESS program for 30 years (R25GM051765); during the last 5-year period of 29 MPC students that participated, 79% have successfully transferred to a 4-year university and 14% are on track to transfer this year! MPC students that participated in summer research at UCSC have transferred to R1 institutions (69%), in stark contrast to MPC’s institutional R1 transfer rate of 15%. These results suggest that exposure to undergraduate research prior to transfer can influence students’ decision-making processes when weighing the relative costs and benefits of their various transfer options.