Born into a large family in western Kenya, Stella Nabwile Makokha attended a boarding school throughout her education. “It was challenging to be away from my family at only eight years of age,” she recalls. “But I had good teachers, and my many older siblings looked out for me.” She attended the University of Nairobi after secondary school, earning a BSc in Agriculture. “I got married right after graduation, and wanted to study outside of the country, but immediately had two children. When I began my master’s program, I had a three-month-old baby and a two-year-old.” Her third child was four when she began her PhD in 2000.