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--Dr. Willie Pearson, chair of Georgia Tech's School of History, Technology, and Society

The transition to graduate school required her to learn how to handle family and financial issues, while also keeping up with her studies and research.

Established in 1990 with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Louisiana Board of Regents, the Timbuktu Academy is an award-winning mentoring program for underrepresented minorities in STEM fields.

"The board recommends creating partnerships between businesses and educational institutions to prepare students, primarily trained for academia, for entrance into the private sector."

Cuker felt he was meant to help minority students become aquatic scientists, which is why he created the ASLO Minorities Program in 1989.

From the director and board to the directorates and offices at NSF, these specialists play a vital role in making sure the science policy "machine" runs smoothly.

Most Ph.D. students manage to support themselves, however modestly, with a combination of TAs, RAs, and fellowships.

Gregory is now nearing completion of his Ph.D. at UCLA so now he has to figure out the next step on his career path.

The CIPA grant is part of a program designed to help minority institutions develop science and math curricula while attracting and preparing underrepresented students for careers in STEM.

"While mathematics is the foundation for his study into the nature of the universe, he credits his family and upbringing for providing him with the foundation for success."

Valentine, scheduled to defend her dissertation in March 2006 at Johns Hopkins University's Department of Physics and Astronomy, shares her graduate school experiences and talks about her preparation for her thesis defense.

Are minority students better served by an undergraduate education at one of the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) or have these institutions outlived their usefulness?

The GEM Consortium -- a collaboration of 93 member universities and 48 corporations -- provides funding, a support network, mentoring, and professional development to underrepresented minority graduate students.

Mack asserts, "I've not seen any one profession which would allow me to do as much as I've done and continue to do more than math."

While the overall NSF EHR budget took another round of cuts, Thompson believes individual programs aimed at diversifying the scientific workforce will continue to meet the agency's objective to keep youth "engaged" in science.

Now in its second year, a 9-month postgraduate course in the mathematical sciences recruits promising science, math, and engineering students from various African countries and lecturers from around the world.

"The Faces of Science brings humanity to the scientific achievements of African Americans."

Through it all, she bettered her skills and honed her experience until she could get her dream job--combining her knack for communicating with her science training.

A survey of the top 50 ranked physics departments in 2002 shows that of 1998 physics faculty members, there were 12 of identifiable African heritage.