When Caroline Lanau-imbert was eleven years old she moved from Mexico to live in Hawaii with her family. At the age of seven her parents had already begun their search for a school for their daughter in the same area. The family had always been interested in promoting knowledge worldwide and they began to research on various schools for their daughter. At first, they believed that Lanau-imbert would be better off at a traditional school in their hometown, but because her friends were all in the medical profession they soon changed their minds and started searching for a school that could help her obtain her degree in medicine.
This is where her life’s passion for education began. She knew right then that she wanted to be a doctor, so she enrolled at Waikato University-Hawaii. While in school, she kept her skills in mind and kept her sights firmly on the medical profession, which led her to focus her attention on a particular field of study-pediatrics. She had never even considered studying her nationalities before, but once enrolled in the University, it hit her like a ton of bricks and the opportunity to learn about other cultures was irresistible.
Being from Puerto Rico, Lanau-imbert was originally born in French. Because of her great interest in the medical field, her parents had tried to encourage her to speak more Spanish in order to broaden her knowledge regarding different diseases and illnesses that affect people of Puerto Rico, such as cancer. In order to broaden her knowledge even further, her parents had taken her to the United States to live with them for a brief period of time in order to gain a better understanding of American culture and to better acquaint her with the foods, drinks, and other things that make up a typical American diet. The experience, combined with her natural curiosity, had allowed her to start developing her own interests in nutrition and health, eventually leading her to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in nutrition at Waikato University. This education had helped her acquire valuable qualifications in the nutrition field and had also opened her eyes to the importance of promoting inter-cultural communication and awareness on campus.