It is very easy to look at someone’s education and career and see only the parts that worked out. Mine makes a lot more sense when you also know what happened in between.
It is very easy to look at someone’s education and career and see only the parts that worked out. Mine makes a lot more sense when you also know what happened in between.
As difficult as some of those in-between moments were, I am grateful for what they taught me about opportunity, uncertainty, rebuilding and moving forward when plans change. This timeline looks at some of the not-so-glamorous and difficult parts of building a career and a life.
Select a point on the graph to see the opportunity, challenge or setback I faced at that point in my story.
Graduating with My Bachelor’s During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jul. 2020
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Follow the path below to read what happened at each stage and how these experiences became part of my story.
Jul. 2020
Graduating with My Bachelor’s During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The final year of my undergraduate education was difficult and nothing like I had imagined it would be. What I had envisioned as the closing chapter of my undergraduate years in a new country became months of lockdown, remote study and adjusting to a completely different way of learning. In July 2020, I graduated. It was an important achievement, even though the circumstances were far from how I had pictured that moment would be.
I was admitted to the University of Toronto, but a Canadian visa refusal in August 2020 meant I could not take up the opportunity. I had the admission offer, but without the visa, I could not go.
About 6 months after my Canadian visa denial, I was admitted to Tufts University for Master's of Science program in Sustainability in March 2021, and this gave me another opportunity to continue my education abroad. It was a new opportunity after the disappointment of Canada, but getting admitted would later turn out to be the easiest part. Actually being able to start was another matter.
My first U.S. student visa refusal came in August 2021. I had been admitted to Tufts, but I could not start as planned, so I deferred my enrollment to the following year.
My second U.S. visa refusal came in February 2022. That extended the uncertainty into another year and delayed the start of my graduate studies at Tufts again.
In September 2022, just a few days before the semester started, my U.S. visa was approved, and I was finally able to start my master’s at Tufts.
My education at Tufts was fully funded through a combination of the Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Tuition Scholarship and the 2022 QS World Merit Social Responsibility Scholarship.
Completing the Graduate Education I Had Worked So Long Toward
In May 2024, I graduated from Tufts with a Master’s degree in Sustainability and a Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Science. Achieving this milestone meant a great deal after the delays and uncertainty that had come before it, and it marked the beginning of the next stage of my professional career.
My first career layoff was in January 2025, with the layoff taking effect in March. I had only recently finished graduate school and begun building my professional career, so it was a difficult setback.
Looking for a new role came with its own uncertainty, especially as I also had to think about my immigration status, work authorization and how long I could remain without qualifying employment.
A second layoff followed in September 2025 after my position was eliminated. Losing 2 jobs within 7 months meant that finding work was no longer just about my career; it was now about rebuilding stability in my life.
In October 2025, I also lost my housing. I was already dealing with the uncertainty of losing my job, navigating my immigration and work authorization situation, and trying to find another role. Losing my housing added a much more immediate problem. For a time, finding somewhere new to live had to take priority over the job search.
The housing loss extended into November. It was not a separate setback with a clear beginning and end, but part of the same period of dealing with unemployment, immigration uncertainty and trying to rebuild some stability in my life.
I share this because these experiences are part of my story, just as much as the education, opportunities and achievements are.
They shaped how I think about access, stability and opportunity, and they are part of the story behind the milestones that are easier to see.
The First Time a Work Visa Sponsorship Cost Me a Job
In May 2026, another job offer was withdrawn because the employer was unwilling to hire someone who required work visa sponsorship. It was another reminder that finding the right role also meant finding an employer willing to work with my immigration situation.
The Second Time a Work Visa Sponsorship Cost Me a Job
In July 2026, another job opportunity fell through because the employer was unwilling to provide work visa sponsorship. After the disappointment in May, facing the same barrier again was difficult. Finding a role that matched my experience was only part of the search; I also needed an employer willing to support the sponsorship I required.
The Third Time a Work Visa Sponsorship Cost Me a Job
In August 2026, another job offer was withdrawn because the employer was unwilling to sponsor a work visa. It was my latest reminder of how much immigration status, though legal and authorized to work could affect an opportunity, even after an offer had been made. After this, I decided I wanted to take more control of the direction of my career and began developing my YouTube channel, Illustrious Global.
By September 2026, alongside my professional career in sustainability, I had begun seriously building my YouTube channel, Illustrious Global. Rebuilding is still part of the story. It does not mean every uncertainty has disappeared, only that I am continuing to build what comes next.
The difficult years remain part of the journey that brought me here, and they continue to influence how I think about opportunity, work and what comes next.
An admission offer, a graduation date, a new role. There is often more to the story than those moments can hold.
Getting there took time.
Before I began at Tufts, I had already experienced a Canadian visa refusal after acceptance at the University of Toronto. Two U.S. student-visa refusals followed, delaying my start at Tufts by a year.
Scholarships helped make attendance possible. The Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Tuition Scholarship and the 2022 QS World Merit Social Responsibility Scholarship, worth $10,000, were part of that support. My visa was eventually approved less than a week before the semester began.
Then the path changed again.
In 2025, I experienced two layoffs within seven months and lost my housing. Some job offers were withdrawn because employers were unwilling to sponsor a work visa. Finding a new role meant trying to rebuild stability at the same time.
I share this because these experiences belong in the account of my life, just as much as the education and opportunities do. I can tell that story while keeping some parts of it private.
A life still being built.
Today, my sustainability work and the development of Illustrious Global are part of the next chapter. The difficult years remain part of the journey that brought me here.
Illustrious Global · YouTube
A wider world of questions.
Stories and conversations about sustainability, culture, people and the ways we live around the world.
Sport brings people together across borders. It also raises questions about travel, resources, communities and what remains after an event ends.
This planned video explores the possibilities of a climate positive World Cup—a starting point for my interest in how sport can contribute to environmental and social progress.
Behind the channel
Curiosity shaped by experience.
My interest in sustainability began in Port Harcourt. Living and studying in Russia and the United States gave me other places, perspectives and experiences to think with.
Through Illustrious Global, I want to bring those interests into conversations that connect environmental questions with culture and everyday life.
Contact
What brings you here?
A professional opportunity, a personal question or a conversation you would like to have—there’s a place for each.
Work with me
Partnerships & speaking.
For brand partnerships, creative collaborations, speaking invitations and press or media inquiries. Tell me about your organisation, the opportunity and why you think we would be a good fit.
Connect personally
A message. A conversation.
Have a question about something I’ve shared, an experience that resonates with mine or simply something you would like to say? You’re welcome to write.
For partnerships, speaking and other professional invitations, please use the professional inquiry form.
The Blog
Writing & reflections.
A place to think through sustainability, life across countries and the experiences that change how I see the world.
Reading preview · Sample passage
Learning to live across places
A childhood friend was already studying in Russia, and I wanted to see more of the world. Arriving in late 2015 meant beginning with a challenge: learning Russian before starting my bachelor’s degree.
An approved story passage used to demonstrate the layout; not a published blog post.
Keep reading
From this journal to your inbox.
The blog will connect with my writing on Substack, giving you another way to follow new reflections as they are published.
The line follows the turns in my story. Its height is illustrative; it does not measure the weight of an experience.
01 · Before the move
An opportunity. Then another wait.
01 / Canada
An offer I couldn’t take up
I was admitted to the University of Toronto, but a Canadian visa refusal meant I could not take up the opportunity.
02 / Tufts & funding
A new possibility
Admission to Tufts and scholarship funding made the next step in my education possible.
03 / 2021–2022
Another closed door
Two U.S. student visa refusals delayed my start at Tufts by a year, even with funding in place.
02 · Arrival and what followed
Moving forward. Finding the ground shift.
04 / 2022
Finally able to begin
My visa was approved less than a week before the semester began. I could finally begin my graduate studies at Tufts.
05 / May 2024
Graduation
I completed my master’s degree and GIS certificate. Graduation opened a new chapter of work and life in the United States.
06 / 2025
Two layoffs
I experienced two layoffs within seven months. Finding work became closely tied to rebuilding stability.
03 · Rebuilding
A difficult stretch. A life still taking shape.
07 / During that period
Losing housing
I lost my housing during this period. The search for work was also a search for stability in my everyday life.
08 / During that period
Offers withdrawn
Multiple job offers were withdrawn because employers were unwilling to sponsor a work visa.
09 / Today
Building the next chapter
My sustainability and social impact career, alongside growing Illustrious Global, are shaping what comes next.
The setbacks in 2025 overlapped. Their placement here does not imply an exact sequence.
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