Pursuing a career in neuroscience was never really a choice for me. It’s almost as if neuroscience found me rather than I found her.
I was originally born in Nigeria. My mother was a teacher and, growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, too, because I’ve always enjoyed explaining concepts. However, my mother dissuaded me from this path because, as she saw it, teaching did not pay well. My second career choice was to become a doctor, so I came to the U.S. for college with the intention of going to medical school. I quickly learned that medical school was very expensive and as an international student, I realized there was no way I could afford it. That’s when an undergraduate professor suggested I consider graduate school… [Read the full story story at NIH-NINDS]