Born in Richmond, the state capital of Virginia, to Nigerian parents, Emba is one of four siblings instilled with traditional African family values.
“One thing that I’ve been raised in is, if you’re going to do it, do it well. See it through,” she explains.
“My parents really pushed education first and everything else was secondary.
“As long as I did what needed to be done in the classroom, I could be outdoors as long as I wanted.
“It was a very typical African household.”
Applying those values earned Emba her place at Harvard, one of the world’s most prestigious universities based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She began her four years there playing as goalkeeper for the women’s football team, but would soon find herself wrapped up in the physical joys of rugby union.
“Some of my room-mates were on the rugby team and had kept mentioning that I should come out, I’d really like it,” she remembers.
“As a full-time goalkeeper, I was itching for a bit more movement through the legs. So during the off season, I thought it might be a good chance to explore.”
Perhaps surprisingly, she was “lulled into it” by training sessions in the snow – something her team-mates called ‘snugby’ – in which the cold, powdery conditions lessoned the impact of the tackles.
“As a goalkeeper there’s a bit of contact, but the referee is there to protect.
“But in rugby, everyone’s taking a hit, so that was a bit of mindset shift for me.”
Having proven to be a hit herself, the prospect of playing international sport soon helped make up her mind about whether or not to stick with rugby.
“The coaches were really encouraging and supportive,” she says.
“Being invited to the national team camps, and doing my research on the game, and getting more and more excited at seeing the sevens version of the game as well, I just realised that there was an opportunity.
“And if I went for it and put everything behind it, maybe there was a chance that this dream could come to fruition.”
