Arsema was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but has lived most of her life across sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Togo and Benin), where she picked up an interest in acting as a storytelling device. Born of a Nigerian father and Ethiopian mother, Arsema received her B.A. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 and her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy from Yale University in 2018.