Maegan Arney and is a 5th year Educational Psychology PhD candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. She studies how structural inequalities shape students’ psychological experiences and decisions, with a particular focus on strengthening students’ sense of belonging — especially for those whose belonging is most in doubt, such as students from socioeconomic disadvantage or first-generation college students. She utilizes mixed methods to study anticipated belonging — whether students see themselves as fitting in within educational environments before they get there — and how that shapes their academic engagement, persistence, and decision-making. This work helps her to develop targeted interventions for schools that can reframe cultural narratives to help marginalized students to rightfully see their identities and experiences as assets that can help them thrive.