The Gift It Forward Study

Gift It Forward was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-funded online longitudinal study of University of California Berkeley undergraduates who were current members of the Biology Scholars Program. Participants ranged from 18 to 32 years old (M_age=18 yrs). They were:

• primarily female (71%)
• non-white (49.5% Mexican American/Chicano, 22.2% Asian American/Asian, 15% African American, 10.6% White/Caucasian, and 2.2% Native American/Native Alaskan)
• first-generation college students

Analysis of the BSP's participation data from 2015 and 2016 showed that being active in program events positively related to higher scientific efficacy (r=0.41, p<0.001) and higher scientific identity (r=0.28, p<0.05), but did not likely relate to endorsing community values. 

A focus group of nine undergraduates was conducted to investigate these findings further. The group consisted of:

• 4 BSP members
• 7 females, 2 males
• 8 intended to attend graduate school in a STEM field
• 7 identified as Hispanic/Latino, 7 identified as Asian/Asian-American

The focus group indicated they strongly felt that a sense of community was important to their persistence in STEM. They expressed that having a small STEM community within the institution helped them feel they belonged in STEM and made them feel passionate about their major.

The group also indicated that explaining and discussing their work with peers in a small community setting, like the BSP provides, increased their confidence to accomplish the work required in their field (science efficacy).