She was born in Ghana, West Africa, and has studied and taught in Africa, Europe and the United States. She holds a B.A. Honors in French and Spanish from the University of Ghana, a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation from Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain, a Masters in Spanish from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Romance Linguistics from Louisiana State University. She joined the faculty of Texas Tech in 2004, and has since won the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and a Teaching Academy Award.