ÐÓ°ÉÐÔ°É

At 17, Dr Kerry-Ann Mitchell left Jamaica with a suitcase of clothes, US$300, and the dream to become a doctor.

Today, Mitchell, who was born and raised in Gibraltar, St Ann, has her dream job. After 20 years of training, she was offered a job at the Ohio State University as a neuroplastic surgeon scientist.

"I've wanted to become a doctor for as long as I can remember. There were no doctors in my community. The closest hospital to us was located over an hour away in St Ann's Bay. One of my brothers was ill during childhood, and I remember my parents having to rush him to the hospital multiple times. Those doctors saved his life and reinforced my determination to become a physician myself," she told THE WEEKEND STAR.

Mitchell, now a mother of two, attended Benedict College in South Carolina for four years, and later obtained her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Utah, followed by her MD from Stanford University School of Medicine. She then completed her integrated plastic and reconstructive residency programme at the University of Southern California.

In Jamaica, she attended Ferncourt High School, and focused on the sciences and mathematics. After graduating, she realised that her parents, an auto body shop worker and housewife, wouldn't be able to pay for college.

"No one in my family had gone to college, and I didn't have relatives abroad that could help me. But I decided I would get a job and start saving towards college," she said.

At age 16, with no work experience, businessman Andy Chin, who she had met previously during a high school event, hired her.

"Initially I worked as a clerk with his construction company, then after a time I started serving as a waitress at the Bibibips Bar and Grill so I could save money for college sooner," she said. Subsequently, she met a college recruiter who told her that given her excellent high school grades, she just needed to score well in the SAT exams to be eligible for a scholarship.

Obtained a scholarship

"I studied and took the SAT exams, obtained a scholarship from Benedict, and the rest as they say is history," said Mitchell.

She said that her childhood was great, despite having to fetch drinking water either from a standpipe in Gibraltar or the rivers and springs in Seafield, St Catherine.

"We used to climb trees in the summertime to get the best mangoes, and help my grandmother gather crops to take to the market on weekends," she said. "I am from a large family, with two sisters and four brothers and a very large extended family. I knew all my neighbours very well. In primary school, when my family couldn't afford to pay for extra lessons for Common Entrance Exams, my teacher, Ms Sadie Frater, waived the fees. That was the kind of environment I grew up in ... kind and supportive."

Mitchell said that the road to her dream didn't seem as long, probably because she took it one day at a time.

"During college, I became interested in biomedical research, particularly neuroscience," he said. Towards the end of graduate school, she got accepted to Stanford.

"Helping to improve patient quality of life was important for me. We help patients return to a state of normalcy after many challenging diagnoses such as breast cancer requiring mastectomy, or facial trauma with multiple injuries, or as in the case of neuroplastic surgery, restoring a normal appearance after brain surgery," she said.

Afterwards, she decided to do an additional year in neuroplastic surgery, also merging her interest in clinical and research to become a surgeon scientist.

"I am finally done and have achieved even more than I set out to do. I am totally happy with my career path," she said. Mitchell advises young Jamaicans with big dreams to always do their best and never settle for mediocrity.

"Speak your dreams into reality. You never know who may be listening. Apply for scholarships and opportunities even if it seems like a long shot and ask for help. Be willing to work hard for what you want. Follow your dreams," she said.