Engineering professors, Sophia Santillan and Rebecca Simmons, have been crucial role models for Sydney Hunt as a Black and Hispanic woman in STEM. From the start of her first year, she spent time during office hours and lunches having conversations with them about diversity and retention in STEM fields. So, when Santillan reached out and encouraged Sydney to apply for a Bass Connections team investigating female math identity and the gender gap in STEM, she decided to give it a try. 

"Being on a long-running Bass Connections team has allowed me to connect with amazing professors from multiple disciplines, learn how to pace my work throughout the year and gain confidence as a researcher in my own right while simultaneously having a positive impact on the Durham community."

Read more about Sydney's Bass Connections experience.