From Cameroon to Canadian TV: Karen Monie is living her dream

Growing up in Cameroon, Karen Monie never thought she'd end up in the film industry in Canada.

After pursuing a bachelor of arts degree at Carleton University in Ottawa, Monie moved to St. John's where she decided to chase her passion.  

"It's something that took a lot of courage to make that decision because I came to a crossroad where I knew I was miserable," she said. "I was doing something that I didn't like because that was family expectation; to work in a bank for instance, or be an engineer, something of status." 

From her home base in Newfoundland, Monie has been working on film sets and is currently a stand-in on a new CBC show called Caught, which stars Allan Hawco and Paul Gross.

Monie said she's happiest when she's on set, and she's taking the opportunity to learn everything she can. She knows that a lot of people helped her get to Canada, and her ultimate goal is to take all she's learned back home to Cameroon to empower other people to tell their stories.

"There's some people back home that don't have the means of leaving Cameroon to go pursue their dreams, so I think it's fair that I go back and help those people," she said. "I think that's something that every immigrant, every person who leaves back home to come to a place like this should do is to go back home and help people, because you didn't get here on your own."

To hear Monie's full interview, click the link above.