Manchester native scores big at Ivy League school

July 13, 2021
Jhannel Gayle
Jhannel Gayle
Jhannel Gayle
Jhannel Gayle
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A leap of faith is how Jhannel Gayle described her decision to apply to New York's Columbia University, as she did not expect to be accepted to the Ivy League school to continue her studies in occupational therapy. But her faith was enough, as on March 1, 2019, she received the confirmation email that she was granted a scholarship.

Gayle, 29, hails from Mandeville, Manchester, but her family relocated to Goshen, St Elizabeth, where her academic abilities were discovered while she was a student as Goshen All-Age School. She transitioned to Black River High School, where her love for the sciences was discovered.

"I realised that I love biology, chemistry and physics, and it was just how the teachers were great, and they set the foundation and tone after realising that I wanted to do something in the sciences," she shared.

After completing lower-sixth form, Gayle migrated to Florida in 2010 to live with her mother, Dezrene Wright, and later attended the Florida International University to read for her bachelor's degree in recreational therapy and a minor in psychology. This was the beginning of her journey to become an occupational therapist. The field interested her as when she was 16, Gayle was diagnosed with scoliosis.

"At the time, I was going to physical therapy in Jamaica for two years, but they did not have occupational therapy. So, I kind of just did swimming and physical therapy once a week outside of school. When I went to America, I did physical therapy, and it was kind of mild for the pain I was feeling in my lower back. That's when I learnt about occupational therapy, and it fuelled my interest for it," Gayle explained.

After completing her undergraduate studies in 2017, Gayle yearned to attend Columbia, having participated in internship programmes there two years prior. But she doubted she would be among the 55 persons accepted into the occupational therapy graduate programme. She was convinced that she would end up at Brunel University in London, where she also applied. But she got into Columbia with US$22,000 for funding.

Only black Caribbean student

An enthusiastic Gayle began her studies that summer and was shocked that she was the only black Caribbean student. She described the experience as interesting, and even encountered racism. Nevertheless, she persevered, using her background to an advantage.

"It's an advantage because even now on my rotations, I'm the only black person, because occupational therapy is a very white occupation, so I feel like I'm standing out all over," the scholar said. Gayle, who graduated on June 4, dedicated her success to her late father Prexwell, who died in a motor vehicle accident in 2016. The first-generation tertiary graduate said giving up was not an option and stayed committed to her studies in order to make him proud.

"I think if he were still alive today, he would've been proud to know that his daughter went to a top school in the country," she related. Gayle is completing her clinical rotations and is eager to transition to being a paediatric occupational therapist. She is encouraging Jamaicans to think beyond limits and take hold of uncharted opportunities.

"You have to put yourself out there to get the best education possible and apply to these schools you think you'll never get into, and work hard and get the degree. Take the opportunity," she said.

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