Twenty years ago, Melissa Wall decided to quit her reporting job, pack her backpack and venture on a trip around Africa and Asia.
"I wanted to see the world; I wanted to be a better person," explains Melissa.
Melissa spent two and a half years discovering the two continents. During this period, she wrote travel articles, toured many new cities and ran a youth hostel in Zimbabwe.
In the early 1990s, Melissa returned to the U.S. and embarked on a new adventure, namely grad school.
"Initially I wanted to learn more about Africa from an academic standpoint," says Melissa. "Then I was on this assistantship, so it was basically free!"
After another quick trip to Zimbabwe and Thailand, where she did research, taught journalism, and prepared for her comprehensive exams, Melissa returned home.
This adventurist is now an Associate Professor in the Journalism Department at California State University of Northridge.
Melissa believes her travels across Asia and Africa changed her for life. "It made me much more empathetic to people from other countries," she explains.
Here's Melissa talking about her life journey.
- Nahed
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