Sylvane is a Chicano graduate student in Social Psychology at UC Santa Cruz and is developing a multi-method portfolio of research that addresses educational equity issues from elementary school to college. When he isn’t collaborating with local youth on a participatory action research project, he is researching higher-educational culture, community, and sense of belonging for underrepresented students. Sylvane has been a researcher for three Hispanic Serving Institution initiatives at UCSC, 1) M.A.P.A, 2) Cultivamos Excelencia and 3) S.E.M.I.L.L.A., studying counterspaces, transfer receptive culture, and STEM retention. Currently, he is interested in how elements of a smaller learning community in the College Math Academy can benefit underrepresented students in their early STEM careers. In 2019-20, Sylvane is serving as the CITL/Division of Student Success Graduate Student Researcher in Student Mental Health & Resilience to develop practical strategies for supportive learning environments.