#WooWho: “I moved to the U.S. when I was 8. A very vivid image in my mind is from when I landed in New York — it was a blanket of lights I’d never seen before. I was born in Cabo Verde, an archipelago off the west coast of Africa near Senegal. It is tiny: the population is about 500,000. I grew up in a village on the rural island of São Nicolau; I like to call it my happy place! It was a simple village life in a close-knit community where everyone takes care of each other. My family’s move to the U.S. is the story of many other Cabo Verdeans at that time — a search for better opportunity. At that young age, I started wondering why some places have more wealth or a higher standard of living than others. I wondered why some people have to leave their homes to search for better opportunities elsewhere. My mom would send me back to Cabo Verde every other year for summer vacation, so I stayed connected to the islands. I was living in these two worlds, and it sparked my interest in economics...