Globe trotter finds a home at UNC

When it came time to decide where to go to college, sophomore Quinta Fernandes, who has lived on multiple continents and already had a lifetime’s worth of experiences, decided to call UNC home.

“I realized I hadn’t spent much time in the country I was born in, and maybe I’d like to do that — be the American that I am,” Fernandes said.

Born in the U.S., she has lived in Gambia, England, Tanzania, New York, Winston-Salem and Austria, where she finished high school.

Her mother works for the United Nations and is stationed in Senegal.

“I love it. I really enjoyed it,” Fernandes said of the constant traveling. “It’s just been such a part of my life. It’s normal but exciting.

“It can be hard, but if you appreciate the opportunity versus lamenting the fact that you have to leave a lot of people behind, you can learn to enjoy it even though it can be a bit unstable.”

Despite the instability, Fernandes’ friends describe her as dependable.

“She’s like my conscience. When I’m deciding something or if I feel a certain way about something, she’s always there to say, ‘Hey, get your shit together.’ She keeps me on track,” said Riya Viswanathan, her suitemate.

Joining an African dance team as well as gaining hands-on experience by working in a lab, Fernandes has delved into UNC and made it her own.

“I think she’s very wise beyond her years. The way she carries herself, she’s very classy, very professional. Very easy going but feels a certain way about certain things, and she’ll tell you if necessary,” said her roommate Maria Mullis.

Fernandes is a sophomore biology and French major and also speaks Wolof and Krio, languages spoken throughout the African region where she once lived. She hopes to someday work for Doctors Without Borders.

“She’s one of the very few people I know that has her shit together, she actually has everything together,” Viswanathan said. “She has a plan. She knows what she wants to do with her life.”

Fernandes said she came to UNC to spend time in America. She had heard about the school from friends when she spent time in North Carolina.

She said she has made lifelong friends at UNC who plan to be in one another’s weddings.

“She has a lot of swag,” said Viswanathan.

Fernandes said Southern values and African values align in some ways that made the culture shift less difficult.

“Having a culture of hospitality and also people having a lot of religion being quite central to their lives,” Fernandes said. “Because there are more conservatives in this region of America — Africans are fairly conservative, too — I might not be, but I’m used to it and it doesn’t bother me. It’s so normal, it’s a part of everyday life. It’s not that bizarre.”

She’s made a home here.

“For other places I’ve visited in the States, people are quite interested in my background, which is nice, but you almost become a spectacle because people want to ask you questions all the time,” she said. “I like that Carolina has a Carolina community, so that you become one of them instead of always being that one person who’s a bit different.”

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