Both recognized a love for math and science early in life and pursued their career goals with passion and hard work.

Jerry Elliott realized that being Native American made him well-equipped to be a scientist.

Radio Universidad, a Spanish-language radio program based in Tucson, Arizona, has been catering to the listening pleasure of Hispanics for 25 years. In October 2003, the program included a 25-minute segment that for the first time talks about science.

Upon realizing the lack of diversity in science, Moore and Penn established the nonprofit organization Brothers Building Diversity in the Sciences in 2001, to inspire underrepresented minority students to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences.