Growing up, Amanda Gorman is determined to eliminate her speech impediment, and as an aspiring scientist brought up in a family of artists, Elisa Schaum feels like a black sheep.

Marine biologist Jessica Hoey tries to keep her daughter’s belief in mermaids alive, and Jamie Brickhouse begins to notice some startling changes in his mother's behavior.

Mathematician and comic book writer Jason Rodriguez feels torn between cultural and professional identities, and as a graduate student, Josh Silberg begins to question whether he's cut out for science.

Aletha Maybank's childhood experiences with institutional racism inspire her work as a physician, and Joselin Linder shares a unique and deadly genetic mutation with just fourteen other people in the world.

Planetary geologist Sara Mazrouei misses out on a dream opportunity -- because of where she was born, and marine ecologist Madhavi Colton faces down despair as the challenges of conservation overwhelm her.