I’ll start my #BlackJourneyToNeuro with my dad. The child of Jamaican parents (Windrush) who came to the UK in the 60s. My dad's story is a painful one but it inspires me everyday. Not my story to tell but in short, a smart child who sacrificed his dreams for others.
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So then comes me, oh yeah my dad missed a university exam to watch me be born, but that's another story. I've seen my dad move dramatically upward in terms of social mobility and give us a life that he never had. Without him… no me. I can't stress that enough.
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Quick sidenote, although I'm talking about my dad, my mum is a gift from God. She sacrificed her time and career goals too. Oh yeah and my sister is my best friend, I could talk about her for days. Also, I love these pictures.
3/14

So the reason I stress my family home and the tranquility is because that contrasts with my dad's childhood. I was able to excel with my studies, undeterred.
4/14

I got into a top grammar school, which was a culture shock. Being black in this environment, dealing with ignorance is HORRIBLE. Also, travelling across the city, (3hr a day) didn't help but that stable family environment helped me ace my GCSEs. There were good times too.
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Aside: Imagine being asked at 11, “can your kind eat this?" or “that lampposts are far apart so that Black people can't swing to work.” This and more toughened me but my parents instilled a SUPER sense of worth in me, that my environment couldn't break. I know who I am.
6/14

So I was good at a lot, so it was hard to decide what to study. After a blip at A-Level, with no longer being able to afford the school bus, amongst over things, I got rejections from 4 med schools: Oxford Imperial, Kings and Keele… The best thing that happened to me.
7/14

I went on to study Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, where I saw my Black peers on my course drop out 1 by 1 until there was just me with the masters. I achieved a 1st class MSci but without that prior preparation, it may have gone the same way for me.
8/14

During the masters year of my MSci, while doing my project in electrochemistry, the PhD student in charge of me told me that I was good at research and should do further study. I had never considered a PhD and when I started looking, I could not ignore the & tech.
9/14

So I applied and now here I am, at Imperial, with a second masters in Neurotechnology and doing my PhD in the same field. Looking back at the books I read when preparing for med school apps, they were all about the brain, I just didn't realise it then. #BlackInNeuro
10/14

That seed was sown way back but I wouldn’t be able to do my current PhD without that chemical background. It sets the foundation for the interdisciplinary work I now do in bioengineering. With this PhD I travel the world, pre-clinical trials, conferences, OPPORTUNITIES!
11/14

I love what I do and working with neurosurgeons and the clinical environment, makes for cool discussions with my nan. She had it hard when she came to the UK, that whole generation did. As a nurse in the NHS, sick patients would refuse to be touched by her Black hands.
12/14

This is just a snippet of the legacy I build on as a #firstgenPhD, grateful knowing I wouldn't be here without a family that endured so that I can fly. This is why I target racism and inequity because I know of our struggles and my success given the right environment.
13/14

“Failure” is just redirection. I wasn't ready at 18, but by 22. Now, here I am, able to navigate these spaces, well prepared (and I need to be) and trying to prepare others. I wasn't going to share this but I hope this helps someone. This is my #BlackJourneyToNeuro
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