The computer science community is homogenous and inaccessible to many. In the U.S., this is evident in classrooms from grade school to grad school [Zweben and Bizot 2023; Code.org Advocacy Coalition 2024]. In this statement, I outline the most impactful diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts that I have taken during my Ph.D., excluding my approach to teaching and mentoring. I am proud of the implications for inclusion in my teaching and mentoring philosophy—but I discuss that in my teaching statement.
You Belong! The inequalities in our field start well before undergraduate studies. For example, while approximately 40% of people living in California identify as Latino [US Census 2023], only about 5% of computer science degrees at UC Berkeley are awarded to Latinos [UCB OPA 2023]. During my Ph.D., I worked in local schools to develop and deliver scientific lessons in Spanish with the aim of exposing young Latino students to potential careers in science. With Bay Area Scientists in Schools (BASIS), I helped develop a new bilingual “You Belong” lesson on Ynés Mexía’s research [BASIS 2020]. This lesson is taught in schools serving low-income and historically marginalized communities. I then worked with Be A Scientist (BAS) to mentor a group of four seventh-grade students in Spanish over a six-week-long lab.
Transfer-to-Excellence. Working with local schools will increase the diversity of our field in the long run, but there is much to do at the undergraduate level too. During my Ph.D., I was fortunate to participate in UC Berkeley’s Transfer-to-Excellence (TTE) program, which I believe is an exemplar initiative. California has a robust community college system that offers 2-year associate’s degrees that are free for residents. After graduating, students can apply to transfer to 4-year bachelor’s degrees. The TTE program pairs students from these community colleges with graduate student mentors during a summer research program. This exposes students to research for the first time and strengthens their transfer applications.
I mentored two students through TTE. After the program, one student transferred to UC Santa Cruz and the other transferred to Stanford. Even more exciting, one student won a SACNAS National Diversity in STEM presentation award, and we extended their work to a conference publication. The TTE program made all of that possible.
Moving Forward. As faculty, I will continue to invest time in programs like TTE and will continue to engage with the community by supporting programs like BASIS and BAS. As discussed in my teaching statement, I will continue to incorporate inclusive practices into my teaching and mentoring philosophy. These are the kinds of projects that I have found to be most impactful and which match my skill set the closest.