Dr Kelemu’s rise: From climbing trees in rural Ethiopia to excelling in science
Dr Segenet Kelemu in her ICIPE office in Nairobi. Photo/Kingwa Kamencu
It was on a brightly lit stage in China, 2006, that Segenet Kelemu had her road-to-Damascus moment.
“I was being given an award for having trained many Chinese graduate students who had returned to their country and were making an impact. As I was handed a gold medal by the president of China, I felt very embarrassed as they read out all the things I had done. I thought: Here I am from a dirt-poor country in Africa, and I’m making a difference in China.”
