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In this research paper, we explore the relationship between undergraduate students’ engineering identity development and their experiences before and during a materials science REU summer internship program. Insufficient diversity in engineering—and STEM fields overall—may impede scientific advancement and stifle innovation [1]. Yet, people of color and women remain highly underrepresented in engineering. According to the National Center for Education Statistics [2], there have been slight increases between 1998 and 2018 in the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to women (from 18.6% to 22.2%) and to Latino citizens and permanent residents (from 6.8% to 10.9%). Meanwhile, the percentage of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black U.S. citizens and permanent residents decreased from 5% in 1998 to 3.9% in 2018. This entrenched underrepresentation suggests a persistent and systemic problem remains in engineering, as demonstrated in other recent studies [3], [4]. Accordingly, our research examines the experiences of students participating in a broadening participation intervention while attending to their prior experiences in engineering and how their postsecondary experiences in and beyond the intervention shape their engineering identity development.