I’m Jenai, hailing from the beautiful city of Chicago, IL. I got my first passport in November 2007 as a result of my forward-thinking mother declaring that we were going to Walgreens to take a photo one day after school. She had no idea what seed she’d planted. I took my first international trip in August 2010 to Santiago, Chile, with my alma mater. At the time, I was a rising junior at the Florida A&M University (FAMU), in Tallahassee, FL studying for my Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting – talk about passion! This trip commenced as a short-term study abroad at the completion of my first internship with global accounting firm, PwC LLP. As a result of that trip, I discovered my passion for travel. I graduated with my MBA from FAMU in May 2013, and began my accounting career at PwC in Chicago in August 2013.

I’ve always had an eye for photography. I was always intrigued by capturing different angles, shadows and the excitement of a moment in time. I only used what I had at my disposal. The evolution went: the best of the flip phone cameras, disposables, a handheld digital camera, the arrival of the ever-improving smartphone cameras, my first DSLR: Nokia D5100, and finally, the Nokia D5600. Along with the evolution of the cameras came the evolution in my love for photography, and my eye for it.

After years of working in Corporate America, you begin considering what you were intended to be doing with your time on this Earth, because this can’t be it! Am I right? In 2016, I began wondering: How can I use my skillset in combination with my passions? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed audit, and wanted to continue to progress, but how could I continue to improve in my career, and continue to indulge in my passions? Wouldn’t that be perfect? In November 2016, along comes this opportunity, by the good grace and direction of God, at a corporation for internal audit, where I travel the world with the company to perform audits. How cool would it be to photograph this journey? And here we are…

From my first international trip ever, to the trips I have taken, and will take, during my career progression with my current role, travel with me! -JMD