Ala is originally from Nigeria and moved first to Switzerland, then to the U.S. at age 16. She earned her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, which launched her career in water treatment before she transitioned to education. After teaching in the Brevard County public school system for 2.5 years, she decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Texas A&M University - Kingsville. Ala now works as a stormwater engineer and has continued tutoring on and off for the past decade.

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She is passionate about many things but primarily focuses her efforts on environmental resource solutions and accessible education. Having navigated multiple foreign university applications while managing her own learning challenges, she understands the value of supportive resources in the academic journey. She became an ESM mentor to help students in their academic paths, regardless of any limitations they might face. Her mentoring approach centers on developing learning strategies with mentees so they can build lifelong problem-solving skills.

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Ala enjoys all the things any science nerd does—video games, anime, sci-fi (Star Trek is better than Star Wars!), random facts, board games, and puzzles. She also loves cooking, hiking, discovering new music, and dancing.

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