In the fall of 2023, sixteen graduate students from around the nation were accepted into the HBCU STEM-US Center’s Graduate Student Fellows Program for Educating Emerging Researchers (PEER). During this five-month paid fellowship, the Fellows learned qualitative research methods in the area of broadening participation in STEM by participating in an ongoing investigation of the efficacy of a Scientific Literacy curriculum at HBCUs. The Fellows attended seminars and training, participated in and facilitated focus groups, and curated interview questions and protocols. Additionally, Fellows received practical skills in collecting, cleaning, and transcribing qualitative data. After the fellowship, the Fellows will be well-versed in analyzing data using a theoretical lens, contributing to knowledge generation and future STEM publications.