Vanessa Awa is a Ph.D. Candidate in the School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In addition to her studies, she serves as a French Graduate Instructor (GI). She has taught undergraduate students elementary, intermediate, and advanced French courses (French 1200, French 2100, French 3160, French 3430). Vanessa boasts nearly 15 years of teaching experience, having impacted the lives of students in both the USA and Cameroon.

With two Master's degrees under her belt, one in International Relations/International Communication from the Institute of International Relations of Cameroon (IRIC) in 2016 and another in French language and linguistics in 2015 from the University of Dschang/Cameroon. Vanessa has a rich background, having previously worked as a United Nations Intern and Program Officer, specializing in language, education, media, and cultural affairs at the UN Francophonie Representation in New York. She has held leadership positions, including the former Vice-President of the African Graduate Professional Student Association (AGPSA). She is currently active as a Student Employee Advisor at the Career Center Mizzou. Vanessa is also a former Deaton Scholar. Her research interests span a wide spectrum, encompassing international and local public policy, language policy, community-based management, gender-based studies, decentralized cooperation, governance, and local development.

Vanessa's current interests delves into the realm of historical sociolinguistics, exploring aspects of language variation, multilingualism, representation and media, cultural studies, identity, and Francophone cultures in West Africa. Her dissertation research focuses on theorizing the global diffusion of African French dialects through social media and music lenses in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa.