2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Why Not Me? A Photovoice Study of Belonging and Identity Formation Among Gender Minorities in STEM

Presented at Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Technical Session 2

Research demonstrates that belonging is essential for student success and retention, yet gender minorities in STEM fields still face significant isolation and barriers to inclusion. Studies have found that students of underrepresented groups in STEM majors are less likely to feel a sense of belonging in their program, illustrating a need for opportunities and initiatives to foster community and connection for these populations on college campuses. This paper details the process of a student-centered photography project, Through Our Lens, and explores participants' reported experiences of belonging in STEM majors on a college campus before and after engagement with the project. Through Our Lens is an arts-based participatory research methodology, following the photovoice model wherein students combine storytelling with photography. Disposable cameras were provided for participants from various STEM programs across the campus of Western Washington University. In a two-part workshop series, the participants collaboratively designed two prompts to explore via photography: "Why not me?" and "How do you create your own space at Western?" Participants captured their photographs over the winter quarter, then attended a second workshop where they received their printed photos and captioned them for a gallery exhibition. The project was evaluated using a mixed-methods pre-/post-survey design with Likert-scale items and open-ended responses. Motivations for participation in Through Our Lens included the desire to learn about gender equity, seek community, and make a difference in STEM. Post-participation responses showed statistically significant increases in participants' reported sense of belonging on campus, belonging within their major, and feeling that their perspectives were valued in STEM, though the small sample and absence of a comparison group preclude causal attribution. Qualitatively, participants described experiencing voice and validation through the project, articulating gender barriers in STEM and building community with peers. The findings suggest that creative mediums of student expression may be associated with community, inclusivity, and validation of lived experiences for gender groups statistically underrepresented in STEM fields.

Authors

Dori Harcharik University of Southern Mississippi [biography]

Dori Harcharik is a first year PhD student in Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. She graduated in 2020 with a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and earned a second bachelor's degree in 2025 in Polymer Materials Engineering from Western Washington University, where she developed a strong interest in research and opportunities related to the enhancement of community, equity, and belonging in STEM programs. She is dedicated to connecting skills in material science with her background in psychology, aiming to enhance STEM education initiatives in her community to amplify student voice and well-being through a variety of leadership initiatives and research endeavors. She will be completing a STEM Education master's degree at the University of Southern Mississippi, concurrent with her PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering.
Ms. Jill Davishahl Western Washington University [biography]

Jill Davishahl is Associate Professor and First Year Programs Director in the Engineering + Design department at Western Washington University. Jill’s teaching, service, and research activities focus on enhancing the first year student experience by providing the foundational technical skills, student engagement opportunities, and professional skill development necessary to improve success in the major. Her current research focuses on creating inclusive and equitable learning environments through the development and implementation of strategies geared towards increasing student sense of belonging.
Liz Stuart Liz Stuart Western Washington University [biography]

Liz Stuart, M.Ed., is the Assistant Director of Outreach and Health Promotion at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. She is also a part-time adjunct faculty member in the Department of Public Health and has taught courses on health education as well as seminars focused on retaining students who are transitioning to college. She has implemented structural changes within Academic and Student Affairs that promote embedding health and wellbeing access into the students daily lives, including adding resource applications into canvas, increasing the distribution of free health supplies to enrolled students, and centering art and cultural connection within health promoting initiatives. She believes in student leadership and self-efficacy as solutions to the community-wide public health issues that impact undergraduate student communities. She enjoys designing learning experiences like the one in this paper, that encourage users to be part of brainstorming and implementing creative solutions to the problems we experience, study and observe.

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