By Ryan Shepard
Jay-Anne Johnson has made history in the state of Virginia. The
James Madison University graduate has just become the first Black woman in Virginia to earn a bachelor’s degree in biophysical chemistry. Her achievement becomes even more incredible when you consider that she stumbled upon the field of biophysical chemistry by accident as a high school student.
“Someone from Jamaica who came here as a kid, emigrated and everything, can still shock the world and shock herself in a sense. And if I can do it, anyone can do it,” Johnson told WHSV.
After discovering biophysical chemistry, Johnson went all-in on pursuing her passion. Along the way, she began to realize that she was one of the very few Black women breaking through in her biophysical chemistry studies.