Adriyan Rae on Joining Chicago Fire After 2 Years of Auditions: 'It Felt So Good I Cried'

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The newest face on Chicago Fire is full of energy — both onscreen and off.

Adriyan Rae joined Firehouse 51 at the beginning of season 9 as Gianna Mackey, a determined young paramedic who grew up with Joe Cruz (Joe Minoso). The character, Rae says felt like a perfect match for her from the jump.

"She instinctually just sat into my body and [her words] came out of my mouth really easily," Rae tells PEOPLE of how it felt to prepare for the audition. Of course, after having tried out for roles in the OneChicago franchise for two years, landing this one — even if it meant starting in the middle of a global pandemic — has been a dream come true.

"I'm happy to have made it through 2020 and happy that I'm here doing what I love," she says. "I try to look on the bright side of things."

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Born in Delaware, Rae grew up playing field hockey at an elite level and studying science in college before becoming an actor and landing roles on Atlanta, Vagrant Queen and now Chicago Fire. Below, she explains that unlikely journey, reveals her first big challenge on the Chicago Fire set and shares what she's learned about firefighters that really surprised her.

Welcome to the OneChicago family! How has joining such an already gelled group been?

They're extremely gelled but they're extremely welcoming as well. Everyone is like home. It wasn't that terrifying once I got here, but before I got there, I had all the jitters, like "Oh my god, is anyone going to be nice to me?" You don't know. It's in its ninth season! And you get here and you realize that they're so freakin' nice and everyone's accepting of you. We ended up all joking and having fun within 10 minutes of meeting each other.

What was your first day on set like?

I was with heavy-hitters: Jesse [Spencer], I was with Taylor [Kinney], I was with Eamonn [Walker], Kara [Kilmer] and Joe [Minoso]. First, I had to get over the fact that Jesse was Dr. Chase from House. It took me a minute because I loved House so much! For so long, I would just look at him and be like, "Dr. Chase! He's in this scene with me! Looking at me!" Everybody was so nice.

How has it been telling stories from the front line amid a pandemic?

It's honestly a blessing to be able to step into a role that highlights people on the front lines. Especially in 2020, we learned just how crucial they are and just how much they sacrifice and just how much we need them actually. Being able to step into that is an honor and kind of terrifying at the same time because you want to make sure you do them justice. You want to make sure that you make sure they're portrayed in the way that they actually are. It's just a grateful place to be that I'm grateful to be in.

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What's something you've learned about firefighters?

I learned that most firefighters die of cancer. And they kind of just know it's going to happen eventually based on doing the job for so many years. They're even more heroic [than I realized], because they still go into the fires every time there's a call. But I also learned about the heart of these amazing people who are on the front lines. They really do put stuff to the side from their personal lives and are there for the people that need them the most, the cities that need them the most.

Let's go back a bit. Did I read you were on the Junior Olympic Field Hockey team?!

My mother played field hockey. She was a beast. She was really good… When I was 5, she took her field hockey stick, cut it in half, and then gave me it and said, "Here, we're going to play field hockey." And I've been playing since. And I did tryouts for the Jr. Olympic team and I made it and I was just freakin' stoked. You get to travel around and play with different people around the country. It was just an amazing opportunity. And to this day, I think I could beat my mother in field hockey.

What made you give it up?

The thing that honestly took time away from it is when I was in college [at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia], I double-majored in physician's assistant studies and medical laboratory science, so I was carrying about 22 credits a semester, which didn't leave much room for anything. So it had to be on the backburner. But to this day, my field hockey stick is still in the trunk of my car!

How do you go from being a science major to acting?

Honestly, I don't know. In college, I wanted to sing and I said, "Alright, I'm going to sing on Instagram." And then somebody on Instagram took my video to somebody at Sony Records and they were like, "Oh, yeah, we could sign her!" And my mom was like, "No. No, you can finish your degree and be a scientist." So I took my tests, I passed, and I called my mom that day, within the hour, and I was like, "Mom, I'm moving to Atlanta to sing." I get there and I started dabbling into acting because there are so many things going on in Atlanta with the TV and film world. And I just freaking loved it. I started training and I found mentors and then on the first show I did, a pilot for Kenya Moore's Life Twirls On, I was on set for 15 hours. And I was still happy! As a scientist, I could've been at work for three hours and I was like, "When is lunch?" Once I was on set for 15 hours and I was still happy, I knew it was the place for me to be.

How did you celebrate getting the role on Fire?

During quarantine, I found out that Vagrant Queen had not gotten picked up for a second season, and I just put my head down. I was sad. I was like, "OK, God, I'm just going to pray that whatever blessing is meant for me." And I started manifesting: I want something that's on a big platform, that has some security with it and I get to be on a set where I get to work more with people. And then when I first read the sides for Gianna, she instinctually just sat into my body and came out of my mouth really easily. She was a skin. I'd been auditioning for OneChicago shows for two years, and it felt so good. I cried.

Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.