Matee Ajavon

Country of origin: Liberia

Matee Ajavon (born May 7, 1986) is a Liberian American player in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics. A 5'8" guard, Ajavon was chosen by the Houston Comets as the fifth overall draft pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.

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Ajavon played for the USA team in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team won all five games, earning the Gold Medal for the event.

To read more about Matee Ajavon, see her page on Wikipedia.

"I know it was difficult, but my mom had our future in her mind," Ajavon said. "She wanted to make a better life for us. She stayed with a white family in their home and took care of their kids. She made enough money to come and get us so we could have an opportunity to live, basically.

To read more about her experiences coming to America, see this link on ESPN.

Helene Cooper

Country of origin: Liberia

Helene Cooper (born April 22, 1966) is a Liberian-born American journalist who is a White House correspondent for the New York Times. Before that, she was the paper's diplomatic correspondent in Washington, D.C.. She joined the Times in 2004 as assistant editorial page editor.

At The Wall Street Journal, Cooper wrote about trade, politics, race and foreign policy at the Washington and Atlanta bureaus from 1992 to 1997. From 1997 to 1999, she reported on the European Monetary Union from the London bureau. From 1999 to 2002, she was a reporter focusing on international economics; then assistant Washington bureau chief from 2002 to 2004.

To read more about Helene Cooper, visit her page on Wikipedia.