Schoolcraft College student Tottionna Bushell is persistent, if nothing else.
Actually, she’s much, much more than just persistent. But let’s start there because it’s a key reason for her latest achievement. Bushell recently was accepted into the University of Michigan’s prestigious Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP).
After multiple attempts.
Bushell had been trying to get admitted into the UROP for two years – and with good reason. The University of Michigan is the top public research university in the U.S., and the UROP is a year-long academic experience that engages students in research, scholarly and creative inquiry.
Her goal is to help low-income communities. It’s a subject she’s particularly passionate about, describing her childhood educational system as “inadequate.” Bushell graduated from Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy a year early before coming to Schoolcraft College.
“What I like best about Schoolcraft is the number of opportunities available,” she said. “I started in the Honors program and I quickly noticed that Nicole Margosian-Galindo and Emily Podwoiski, the coordinators, supported us and encouraged us to do more than just get 4.0s.
“Through Honors projects, I became a well-rounded person as I learned more about the people around me. The honors projects that I completed every semester gave me experience in research.”
The Schoolcraft Scholars honors program is a two-year curriculum that can be adapted to individual career and transfer programs. It’s currently recruiting its next cohort. You can view more about the program here.
Bushell used her growing abilities first to examine and help revise the College’s Title IX policy in 2018. Next, she contributed to a documentary to bring awareness to black mental health and the factors that contribute to it. With the help of the Black Student Union, the film “Black on Black Mental Health” debuted on campus. You can view it here.
Bushell had applied to UROP twice and was waitlisted both times. But she never gave up hope.
“After being accepted to the University of Michigan to major in political science and statistics, I decided to apply to UROP again,” Bushell said. “Professor Karen Schaumann-Beltran wrote me a recommendation letter and was the main factor as to why I applied again.
“In February 2020, I found out that I was waitlisted again which saddened me, although I took this in stride and emailed the director. I expressed my gratitude to her for considering me and told her about my research experience at Schoolcraft College.
“After almost one month, the director emailed me back and asked me to be a part of UROP 2020. This May, I will complete research on low-income communities as it relates to the educational system and ways to improve it.”