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This paper examines the use of quantitative research agendas on systems modeling to study anticipatory cognition and cultural competency. This combination results in an integrative science approach to explore the intersectionality of metacognition, academic self-efficacy, stereotype threat, scholarly reasoning and identity among minority black diaspora graduate students. Extant literature focuses on social support models, but the novelty of the approach in this paper examines metacognition in action within a culturally-aware context. Data were collected as semi-structured narrative inquiry to capture metacognition during learning using narrative identity construction as a tool. There was a total of five students in the study including three females and two male participants in their first year of the graduate studies. However, the analysis focused on three of the participants who provided data consistently for eleven months -- two males and one female. The participants provided data including responses to Likert scale questions, and weekly video narratives in response to three sets of questions each week in an n-of-1 big data approach. This approach has the empirical benefit of allowing more inclusive and personalized analyses to draw conclusions. By observing the requirements of an approved IRB protocol, the analysis based on the transcripts of the video recordings, and the examination of change within each individual over time was confidential and conducted with de-identified data. Video recordings are coded and analyzed using HyperRESEARCH TM version 3.7.5. The result calibrates students’ comprehension, integration, and application of impactful, data-driven research skills. The metacognitive development portion examines the influence and dynamics of anticipatory cognition, stereotype threat, identity, and academic self-efficacy as the students’ progress through the process of quantitative skills mastery. This paper reports on the highlights of the distilled data on: (i) anticipatory cognition -- construct to describe use of prospective memory to simulate future associations and expected outcomes; (ii) academic self-efficacy -- captures the perceived level of confidence in the participants to engage successfully in specific cognitive acts associated with academic mastery; (iii) stereotype threat -- captures the anxiety associated with the salience of status as a member of a group that is stereotyped as underperforming in a specific area; (iv) identity or categorization of the self as a scholar and engineer. Other themes emerging include perseverance or determination, isolation, extant knowledge, future anticipation, and problem solution focus.