SHE was told to pack up and leave.

Had she done that, she wouldn’t be Dr Adriana K Cushnie today.

Cushnie, 28, from Temple Hall, St Andrew, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Biology in 2017 from Macaulay Honors College in New York City. She had received a full scholarship.

She then tackled neuroscience as part of the graduate programme at the University of Minnesota. from which she graduated with a doctorate in neuroscience last month.

“After my first semester at the University of Minnesota I had a meeting with the director of my programme during which it was strongly recommended that I withdraw from the programme because it was clear that I was unprepared, and would likely not succeed in the programme. I did not withdraw from the programme,” Cushnie told the Jamaica Observer.

“I still didn’t know if I had what it took to succeed in the programme, and I had no family in Minnesota and very little support system at the university. However, weirdly, the fact that the administer tried to make the decision for me made it even clearer to me that I needed to succeed. [After] multiple funded awards, first author publications and countless poster talks, I graduated May 2023. I am at the beginning of my scientific career, so there’s much more to go.”

Cushnie attended Lawrence Tavern Primary School as a youngster in Jamaica, and in summer of 2007 she emigrated to Queen’s, New York, along with her younger sister and parents.

There, she started intermediate school (grade 7) a month after the start of the school year and was placed into a remedial class.

She went on to Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queen’s.

“It was close by where my family lived at the time. This was really the only consideration for choosing the school,” she said, noting that she worked in retail during high school and my first year of college.

Cushnie, reflective, told the Sunday Observer that up until college, she thought she wanted to be a doctor or a nurse. She said those were career paths she knew about, and knew they would be acceptable to her family.

“…And I had good grades, so it was feasible. During my first year of college I was accepted into a diversity programme — Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) — that supported unrepresented minority students pursuing degrees in STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics). At this time I was struggling with adjusting to the responsibilities of a college student and constantly felt like I did not know enough or wasn’t fully prepared to succeed in college,” she recalled. “Despite this, being a part of RISE exposed me to a lot of new career options and paths.

“Then 2013 was the year I learnt that scientists were real people, and that this was an actual career path that I could explore. I attended a number of different talks and presentations from graduate students who had previously attended Brooklyn College and were also a part of RISE during their time at the school.”

This, Cushnie said, was the first time she saw people with whom she could identify.

“They spoke in a manner I could understand. This does not mean I understood the science that was being presented — most times I did not — but their life story resonated with me. The speakers were people who had experienced similar struggles as I did. At the time I thought scientists were people that came from well-endowed backgrounds; I never thought it was feasible for people who had come from very little,” she told the Sunday Observer.

After attending the RISE presentation Cushnie learnt that there were opportunities to work in research labs on campus, and in return she would also receive a stipend.

Timid to approach professors to ask if she could work with them, she added that the staff at RISE helped by assisting with writing emails and introducing her to faculty with whom they had established a relationship.

“I joined a research lab during my first year of college. It did not matter to me the research focus of the lab — I just wanted to know what being a scientist looked liked on a daily basis, how to become one, and how would I know if I was a good fit. A year with this research group, I learnt a lot,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“I did not have my own project; I mostly assisted when called upon and learnt simple techniques during this time. But this is where I learnt about research publications and the different sections of the publication, how to formulate a hypothesis, and how to ask questions.”

Cushnie also applied to summer research programmes. She was not accepted upon her first application cycle but was finally accepted for a programme at the University of Utah during the summer before her final year in college.

She had never been to Utah, but there was a mentor who was willing to take chance of on her, she said.

“This was also when I started to zone in on my interest. Through course work I learnt about the brain as an organ. However, through research at the University of Utah I saw brain cells for the first time,” she said, excitedly.

“I also started to learn more about the brain and how it coordinates functioning, behaviours, and involvement in decision-making, as well as the implication of brain disorders.

After three months in Utah as a summer research student Cushnie returned to Brooklyn College and knew she wanted to apply for the graduate programme in neuroscience.

However, she said she was not sure if she was fully prepared to pursue a graduate degree, “but I thought that the worse that would happen was that I would not be accepted and would have to reapply the next cycle”.

She applied, interviewed with multiple graduate programmes, and ultimately, accepted the admission offer at the University of Minnesota.

“My family members have been my biggest supporters — from helping to keep me on top of my schedule, being my personal alarm clock and waiting up for me after late nights on campus or in lab, and praying with me before each big exam. My oldest brother was the first person I called when I was told I should consider withdrawing from the programme, because I knew he understood how much this meant me,” Cushnie recalled.

“My sister relocated after college to Minnesota and continues to be one of my biggest supporters. They cheer the longest and the loudest, sit through my practice talk as many times as I would need, they show up when I’m struggling, and show up with realistic suggestions,” she said.