Liisa grew up in Michigan until age 9 before moving to New Orleans, Louisiana. Her father, Sule Oduola, immigrated from Nigeria, and her mother from Finland. After her parents divorced when she was 7, Liisa was raised primarily by her mother. She remembers her father as more strict and believes that, had she been raised by him, she may have been a more "hard-nosed student," a trait she attributes to his upbringing in Nigeria.

Neither parent taught Liisa their native language. Liisa recalls her father saying all she needed to speak was "good English," believing that was what mattered for her adulthood in America.

Liisa grew up as an American child, and although she visited Nigeria only once, she still felt close to her Nigerian background. She spent a month there in 1990, an experience she calls "incredible." Immersed in the culture, forgetting of home in America, she watched her father light up as he brought his children to his home. While there, Liisa asked which of the two older women who had raised her father was her "real" (blood) grandmother. He replied they both were and told her to "stop being so American."

After moving to New York City in 1994, where her father now lived, Liisa immediately felt she belonged. As the child of immigrants, being surrounded by different cultures and languages felt natural. Although her father never taught her Yoruba, there was never a day he went without speaking it around her.

The object Liisa chose is a wood carving her father had. She grew up looking at it, and today it represents both her father's journey and her own Nigerian heritage.

– Simone Oduola

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant