Irina was born to a diplomat (her mother) and a businessman (her father) who have informed her upbringing greatly. She experienced no broken home and generally little hardship. What she did see was injustice and what she heard from her family was that The Empire was a place of laws but just as often evil.
For a time Irina hoped to follow in her mothers footsteps and became a participant in the Legislative youth Program so that she might learn to lead or secure aid to the downtrodden and despaired. She learned little that felt tangible however and found that she enjoyed the pursuit of knowledge in a more robust and applied setting. Chaffing at the restrictions of public service Irina sought other options.
Irina worked with her father; navigating the world of business and trade. From her father she learned to appreciate the lessons of trade and finance but again grew frustrated at the lack of *action* against the ills she perceived. She felt powerless to apply her knowledge or skills to life.
Looking elsewhere Irina pursued medicine as a tangible expression of her desire to apply her skills and affect others. She took to such acts with apparent prowess, displaying physical ability at times that seemed almost un-explainable for someone of her age. Also too she convinced known stalwarts of education, opposed to special favors or "bending the rules", to grant her access, training or otherwise favors that seemed outside even the privilege her background suggested. Irina spoke of these things as "diplomacy i in action as though she was merely keeping her lessons of government and business close. In Irina's mind to truly heal, she would as much need to be able to navigate influence the systems of being and much as the systems of the being.
Now, having secured certificates of learning and training in the many arts her affluence have provided, Irina has sought a posting as attached staff at New Jedi Academy. Her mixed skills of medicine and education making her an "ideal candidate" to represent the Senate and other similar interests as an outsider. Unknown to anyone is that Irina harbors a more personal mission; to understand her subtle intuitions and apparent unexplained manipulations that have rippled through out her life. The Jedi know something of such things and perhaps by knowing them she can learn more about herself...