The University of South Dakota’s HHMI-IE program, Inclusive Science Initiative, aspires to become a regional leader in providing high-quality training in the sciences to undergraduates from non-traditional background. Specifically, our program focuses on students from under-represented minorities (URM) and those who are the first in their families to attend college with an emphasis placed on American Indian students who represent the largest ethnic minority in South Dakota. The program’s philosophy is that students from under-represented groups already have to make many changes to adapt to their academic institution and it is time for the institution to adapt to the needs of these students. Our programmatic goals are to enhance mentorship training, create an environment that stimulates an interest in the sciences in a broad range of students, provide the tools for the students themselves to cultivate a science identity that meshes with their cultural identity, and to understand in greater detail the motivational processes that promote student success in the sciences. Ultimately, this program aspires to increase the number of students from under-represented backgrounds enrolled as science majors at USD to levels that are consistent with the demographics in our region. For more information, see the ISI website.