In the life of a minority student at Columbia University

Daunting some may say but my first semester at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) was nothing that I expected it to be. It was not a glorious experience! All my excitement and grandeur quickly turned to sorrow. I was elated to attend Columbia, most days all I could think about was that school would commence soon and I would finally get to learn about Occupational Therapy (OT). 

Upon starting school in September 2019, I noticed that I was in for a grueling ride. The first few weeks of graduate school is what anyone expects it to be. There are long classes and nights with no sleep and a lot of studying. Most students live on coffee, long hours at the library and extreme amounts of hours spent in study groups.This is expected in any higher-level education setting. It will require immense hours solely for schoolwork. I still had in mind to not only work but have fun in the big city. My grandmother always said. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Weeks went by and we started to get to know each other as a class. Everyone in my OT class originated from different regions in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Columbia, Jamaica, and Japan to name a few. We were all distinct by culture, race, religion, ethnicity, talent, and personality.

Classes became challenging very quickly. It almost seemed as if I would not be able to navigate my way around the classroom. I felt weird for some reason. I had never been in a classroom where I was the only black student. Often, people think I am African American, and I am always quick to state that I am a ‘Jamaican’ wholeheartedly. My culture defines who I am and this helps me to adjust to various classroom settings.

I am constantly reminded of my years in a classroom back home in the Islands, it always brings me great joy. Once I picture myself at that moment at any given time, I have always felt at home.

I grew up in Jamaica where we are taught the motto” Out of Many One People.” The motto simply means we all come from different backgrounds, but we are all one united people. This thought came back to me as I sat in my classes at Columbia. I quickly made friends with a lot of my classmates and they are awesome people. I then noticed that I started to feel more comfortable after getting to know the people in my class. We started to spend a lot of time together and that’s when I finally realized that I was at Columbia for a reason and I should not feel out of place because of my race or the color of my skin. I was destined to achieve one thing and that was to complete my 2-year Occupational Therapy program and walk across that stage on graduation day with a smile on my face.

Emma Goldman says it best, “No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” My treasure would best be unlocked if I am allowed the opportunity to work as an Occupational Therapists.