In Dr. Kathryn Hacker's own words, "While I was exposed to academic research as an undergrad, it was not until I joined the Minority Access to Research Career trainee program that I fully understood that I could pursue an academic career. This NIH funded program works with underrepresented students interested in pursuing a PhD in STEM fields. As a Chicana student, if I had not had the support offered by the MARC program, I would never have had the confidence to apply to graduate school and later the IRACDA teaching postdoc, a program to train diverse reseachers in teaching. Now as a research faculty at the University of Michigan, I strive towards two goals: to work in urban infectious disease epidemiology in marginalized settings and to give back as a mentor to aspiring scientists. I have particular interest in training and teaching under-represented students in science."