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documentations or the adaptation of
computer software. Fields like these
call for a sound knowledge of the
language patterns of the respective
countries and perhaps even more
importantly, in-depth know-how
concerning the subject matter. After
all, someone who attempts to
translate a text on semiconductor
technology without understanding
the contents is not going to be able to
deliver a high-quality translation.
4.
How did you decide on your
career/academic path?
I didn’t decide alone: my grades and
my father helped me decide and it’s a
decision I DO NOT regret. I have
never loved figures and I always say
with me, its biological: from my
mother (laugh). I knew after my first
week of classes in Form 1 that in 5
years, I will own a locker in the arts
class. I didn’t know exactly what
series I was going to choose, but I
knew for a fact that it was going to be
an A-something!!
And with each passing day and year, I
couldn’t keep up with the chemical
equations, mathematical formulas
were more or less hardcore Chinese
to me, Physics was brain-wrecking
and Biology was a struggle!...and all
these made my choice much easier
LOL!
Before I wrote and after I passed the
GCE A Levels, International
Relations/Diplomacy was my dream
course at the university, for which I
also got admission into 3 universities
in the UK, but the outrageous tuition
fees made us (my parents and I) turn
down the admission offers. Taking
the ERIC entrance examination would
have been an option back then, but
I/we thought my chances of getting in
were minimal. So my parents and I
come up with a Plan B. So I found
myself learning German at the
Goethe Institute in Yaoundé and a
year later Translation in Germany!!
5.
What curricular/extracurricular
aspects from your background,
dating back to St. Bede’s or before,
factored into and helped you on
your journey to where you are
today?
I grew up bilingual, speaking both
English and French – there was
almost no hope of my finding peers in
my neighborhood who spoke
English…but I attended Anglophone
schools. So back in St. Bede’s I didn’t
learn French, I improved my French!!
I was also assistant editor-in-chief of
SaBeCo Voice. I can’t say how it
helped me directly, but I want to
believe it is one of the signs and
symptoms which shouldn’t be
ignored.
6.
What hurdles, if any, did you
overcome along the way, and how?
One of them was learning a new
language: German! I spent 9 months
at the Goethe Institute in Yaoundé,
but when I arrived Germany, I felt like
I had wasted 9 months of my life!!! I