About Me — Joyce Chuinkam

I’m a black female rugby player turned body builder turned writer and my first boss was Barack Obama.

Up close & personal

Here are 30 things about me that might give you context for my writing.

1. I’m a recovering perfectionist and people-pleaser.
2. I lived in Cameroon, where my parents are from, for 8 years.
3. I have not lived at home since I was 11 — I went to boarding school.
4. I won a poetry competition and had my first poem published at 12.
5. I started college (Penn State) at 16.
6. I did an exchange at Oxford to study Politics Philosophy & Economics.
7. I have a dual Masters from the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California.
8. I didn’t play any sports growing up then discovered rugby after college.
9. Both my LSE and USC teams made it to their division championships the year I played (coincidence? I think not).
10. My first job after undergrad was working on the Obama campaign.
11. Every year for my birthday, I travel to a country I’ve never been to.
12. I’ve visited about 20 countries.
13. Living in LA for 7 years is the longest I’ve ever lived…