Graduation at Edgewood College: Handling the Pressure
Jaiona Spell, who came to Edgewood College via Waukesha West High School, graduated fromnEdgewood with a degree in biology
By Jonathan Gramling
When we meet on Edgewood College’s campus for the outdoor graduation ceremony, Jaiona Spell met me with a smile. She was very pleasant and seemed able to handle anything that life throws her way.
Spell grew up in Milwaukee, a far cry from Edgewood’s campus, but not really when one thinks in terms of “family” values. Being one of the oldest in her family meant that she had to set the pace for the others.
“I am the second oldest sister of eight brothers,” Spell said of her extended family. “I am the second oldest. My parents are actually separate. They never married or anything like that. I grew up with a bonus mom and then a bonus dad. Having a big family, it was always important to be a role model for my younger brothers, but also my cousins and other family members. It put a lot of pressure on me especially because my older sister had children when she was younger. And so she actually wasn’t able to go to school when she was supposed to because she had a child. And so my entire family knows that I want to be a doctor. It was a lot of pressure because sometimes they would call me, ‘Dr. Jaiona. How is it going?’ There was a lot of pressure knowing that I couldn’t fail. Everyone was expecting me to finish what I decided to do.”
Her mother was the kind of parent who would do anything for her children’s wellbeing. And that included moving to Waukesha, which is not noted for having a large Black community.
“Milwaukee doesn’t have the best public schools,” Spell said. “And my mom wanted me to have more resources and Waukesha was a great option to have more opportunity and resources. My mom makes a lot sacrifices. And I can’t wait to give back to her for all that she does. She always put us first and then she kind of takes care of herself. This is just one step for me getting closer to being able to take care of my mom like she takes care of us.”
Waukesha ended up being a good choice for Spell thrived there.
“I went to Waukesha West,” Spell said. “Actually I liked my high school because of the faculty and staff. I wasn’t big into sports. But I was more into diversity club and Spanish club and book club. I love to read.”
And it was because of Waukesha West that Spell ended up at Edgewood College.
“Edgewood was on one of the tours that I went on in high school and I really enjoyed it,” Spell said. “The tour guide who helped us actually became my friend when I started at Edgewood. What led me to Edgewood was the small classes. It was real nice. The tour guide said, ‘Yeah, we have some things going on. But the people here care for you.’ I think relationships are very important. And the relationships that I built at Edgewood have honestly helped me take it farther so that I could get to this point. I definitely would not have been able to graduate without all of the support that I did have on campus and of course my family.”
Spell lived on campus in Marshall Hall. It was a totally different living environment for her.
“No one likes to live in Marshall because it is kind of a cabin vibe,” Spell said. “But honestly, I loved Marshall. It felt like home away from home, especially being that I moved kind of far away from family and missing home with all of the things that go on there. But living on campus is really nice. I really enjoyed the small campus. And whenever I would go out of Edgewood into Madison, I could see it is a bigger spot, but then I would go back to the small environment.”
Spell had always lived in somewhat crowded living conditions, coming from a large family and all. But through a set of coincidences, Spell also got to experience another side of life, solitude.
“My freshman year, I started out with a roommate, but she wanted to get a different room, so I had a double to myself, which was nice,” Spell said. “It was probably the first time in a while since I had my own space. And then my second year I stayed on campus, I got lucky again. The roommate who was supposed to come ended up not coming. And I had a double to myself in a suite, which was nice. I was able to have my own space and my siblings couldn’t take my stuff this time.”
Spell spent a good deal of her college career under the threat of COVID-19. And it couldn’t help but impact her collegiate career.
“COVID-19 was really hard,” Spell reflected. “The motivation when there was life happening, working less hours and not being with family, COVID-19 was pretty impactful. I know everyone has been impacted. During that time, I also lost my grandfather. I was really sad and down. COVID-19 didn’t make it any better. But what I lean towards, not only with family, but also my advisor really helped me. I would not have graduated without the help of my advisor honestly because with COVID-19, the motivation wasn’t there. I started getting triggered when I got emails. It felt that because we were at home, my professors felt we had more time to work. But that really wasn’t the reality.”
I have learned that I am a face-to-face learner as well as a hands-on student. It was really hard to do physics and anatomy via Web-Ex or video call.”
As with most people who attend college, when she got to experience a broader view of the academic world and the possibilities in life, Spell shifted gears while at Edgewood.
“My major is biology,” Spell said. “Originally when I started college, the hope was to go to medical school so that I could become an OB/GYN. And that is still a potential idea. However with COVID-19 and things like that, I realized that I want to use my biology to get into the biotech world because it is something that has been interesting me and something that is important with COVID-19 around. I want to get into creating instruments or machines for the medical world. But I am still trying to figure it out. I’ve actually been connected to some good resources from the director of Diversity & Inclusion at Edgewood. And he helped me connect with some people who could break down a little bit more of what biotech is and what some possibilities are within that field.”
While Spell enjoyed her experience at Edgewood College and is prepared for the next level because of the faculty and staff, and jointed the Black Student Union and became its president, it didn’t mean that she didn’t experience any micro-aggressions.
“The biggest challenge I faced in college, honestly, was being a Black woman at a predominantly white institution,” Spell said. “Sometimes it just seems like a lot of people are already judging you, expecting you to do something. At Edgewood, it didn’t seem as if people were genuinely trying to get to know people outside of their comfort zone. It was almost like people were okay being in a bubble. It kind of made it a little challenging. But it was nice to be a part of the Black Student Union where I felt like I had a family in Madison outside of where home is. And I was able to create a family on campus. And that was a safe space for me.”
One of the biggest pieces of advice that Spell would give to incoming freshman is to just be able to roll with whatever life throws your way.
“I would tell an incoming freshman that college is not a straight line,” Spell said. “It may seem like a straight line. But actually, there are a lot of curves. There are a lot of times when you may feel discouraged and feel like giving up, when things may seem to be so hard. But if you ask for help and you find those people who want to help and are willing to help you, reach out to them. No question is a stupid question. And lean onto your support group. Sometimes we may not believe in ourselves, but others believe in us before we do. That is what I would have wanted to hear when I was a freshman, for sure.”
While Spell has her sights on a career in biotech, those plans will have to wait as Spell finishes up old business and prepares for the next chapter in her life.
“I will be taking the year off just to just relax a little bit and work so that I can take care of finances when I go to graduate school,” Spell said. “I am also moving to Florida with my father in about a year. So I’m just kind of prepping for that transition of moving. I’m also taking the year to find grad schools in Florida that focus on biology and technology, a biotech program. We’re relocating to Miami, Florida. My friends are already asking, ‘When are we coming down?’”
One gets the feeling that no matter what environment or climate, Jaiona Spell will succeed.
