Our Black and Beyond: Celebrating Black excellence campaign aims to showcase the contributions and achievements of our Black staff, students and alumni, featuring profiles of individuals from across our St George’s community. In celebrating excellence, the campaign aims to recognise the wide-ranging contributions these individuals have made in academia or beyond, and the different ways in which these achievements can inspire us.
If you know of a member of our community who you feel should feature as part of the campaign, please do nominate them.
Jade has a long history with St George’s as a St George’s Biomedical Science alumna, a staff member and now a first year Medicine student.
My journey to Medicine
“Education has always been important in my home; myself and my three siblings all have first class undergraduate degrees in different specialities. I went to a state secondary school and sixth form in London and have lived here all my life; my dad is from Nigeria and my mum is from Jamaica and Scotland.
“I first joined St George’s, University of London in 2017 to study Biomedical Science, and was very excited to start. I remained focused during my studies and graduated with a First class degree.
“I went on to study a Master's degree at Imperial College London in Reproductive and Developmental Biology before returning to St George’s as a staff member working in Clinical Genetics for two years, where I was given the opportunity to work with renowned consultants in the field such as Dr Tessa Homfray and Professor Sahar Mansour. During my employment, I decided it was time to follow my dreams and apply to medical school. I received an unconditional offer to study Medicine at St George’s and started in September 2023.”
Passions, challenges and inspiring others
“I have always been passionate about helping others succeed in reaching their full potential. I have been a private tutor for over four years, as well as more recently supporting aspiring medical students with their Medicine applications.
”Another passion of mine is my faith and my relationship with God. God has brought me to where I am now and none of this would be possible without Him. He has shown me through my story that His timing is always the best timing. I initially applied to Medicine straight after sixth form but was unsuccessful and couldn’t see why at the time. But fast forward 7 years later, I have gained two degrees and worked in the NHS for two years and still get to study Medicine, which shows me all the things I would’ve missed out on if I started Medicine straight after sixth form.
“Outside of academia, I am part of British Gymnastics where I compete nationally for my club amongst other gymnasts. Gymnastics has helped me greatly as it has served as a break from studying and academia but has also helped me remain fit and healthy overall.
“I faced challenges along the way. A main challenge being that the secondary school I went to had a lack of resources and support for aspiring medical students with the application process. This meant that I had to do extra research to find the best resources. I didn’t have any doctors in my family or even have anyone around me that was a doctor, I had to be proactive and go out of my way to find resources to aid with the process. I would say that knowing students that were already studying Medicine helped me greatly to get to where I am today because they have been through the application process already and were able to offer support and provide tips.
“There were points within my journey where I was close to giving up on my dream of studying Medicine but having my faith and my family around me kept me motivated. My family were my support system throughout my journey, they’d follow me to the Medicine entrance exams, research online and gather information that they think may be of use in my application process.
“I was highly inspired by seeing my peers that I studied Biomedical Science with getting into medical school around the world, they were my role models because this showed me that I could do the same.
“During my work experience placements, I noted how underrepresented black people are within the medical field and this only encouraged me further to pursue my dreams. I knew that my determination and dedication would inspire many people.”
My time at St George’s
“When I first joined St George’s for the very first time in 2017, I was greeted with a warm welcome by the current students and the staff.
“St George’s will always feel like home for me, with the great opportunities and the inclusivity. I will be the first medical doctor in my family. All glory to God.”