“I came from a very poor family. My father was a small farmer in...

“I came from a very poor family. My father was a small farmer in Nigeria. And even though he had no education, he always taught me that education was the most important thing. He told me: ‘When you have no education, it’s like being in a small room with many people. There is little opportunity available to you, and many people are competing with you. But as you educate yourself, the room grows. You have more opportunities, and less people competing with you.’ I always remembered that. My mother died when I was twelve. I started working as a maid when I turned thirteen. I made 5 cents a day, which I saved for school. There was no free education in Nigeria. When I ran out of money, I’d stop going to school and go back to work. Stop, work, go back to school. Stop, work, go back to school. And all along my father would say, ‘You aren’t done yet. This is not your last bus stop. One day you will have so much education that you will teach in America.’”