I was born in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. I grew up changing schools every two or three years, the family following my father in his civil service job across Cameroon. We were not rootless, however, because home for us was our ancestral village near Yaoundé where we spent summers. It was an opportunity to observe ant hills, watch birds up close and learn not to mess with African honeybees, and finally, to play barefoot soccer in the afternoon with cousins, after farm work and domestic chores like fetching water from the well.

I came to the U.S. in 1997. I was hired from Montreal – where I earned a PhD in Finance – by an American investment company. I am now a portfolio manager at Wellington Management.