This study, framed with a socialization lens, discusses the impact of using stories about early contributors in engineering education (via results of the Engineering Education Pioneers Project) as a mechanism to help socialize the first cohort of graduate students in a new engineering education Ph.D. program. Two instructors designed a new course requiring five students to read selected pioneers' stories weekly. Students subsequently wrote weekly reflections about the stories and submitted a final synthesis of their reflections at the end of the semester. Findings presented using a student-led autoethnographic approach include highlights and themes describing the overall impact of the pioneers' stories to facilitate an understanding of the field and develop an identity as an engineering education researcher. Findings also include the instructors' observations of the stories' impact on students' professional formation. Implications for various stakeholders in the engineering education ecosystem are discussed.