Hadiza Adah

There was that opportunity to really interact with each other. Met amazing people – I still keep in touch with all my friends from PUIC. 

Which Navitas college did you study at and what year you study? 

I studied at what was PUIC at Plymouth University International College in 2015. So, I believe I joined the cohort January 2015 and did the full Foundation Year. From my understanding, I think there’s been a rebrand and it’s now UPIC. Yes. So that’s where I studied. Really fantastic time there. 

Yeah, so, I think at the time when I joined PUIC, I feel like it was so small. The cohorts were so small. Not that it was a bad thing – it was fantastic, but we literally knew, we knew all of ourselves. So, even the few cohorts before us, we knew all of them by name. And that’s just because of how tight-knit it was, which was fantastic because again, when we went off to university, it was a whole different ball game. So, it was nice to have that comfort and familiarity when we first moved to the UK.  

I still keep in touch with all my friends from PUIC. When I think about it, I’m still happy I chose to do it. Only because at the time, before I moved, I had two options. I could either do A Levels at one of the A Level universities here in the UK. Or, do a foundation year A Levels back home, because they do have some of those institutions back home in Nigeria. Or, go to PUIC. And it just so happened that I ended up at PUIC. So, I don’t regret it. Fantastic, met amazing people, still visit them to this day, still go on holidays together. 

What is one of your favourite memories during your time at Navitas? 

One of my favourite memories studying at PUIC, is just how together we were, we all were. So, I know on a Friday we would usually have like dinner together at any of our flats or accommodations and then would invite everyone. And sometimes, it’s one person cooks for everybody and then everyone tries something new. Other times it’s ‘bring something with you’. And then we just play games, talk about the week, talk about our families back home and just really bond. 

And it’s a very fond memory for me because when I moved, I was just 16. I moved away from home. Bear in mind, I would normally be at home, talk to my parents every day, talk to my siblings every day. And I moved by myself to different a continent. 

So, having that every other, like every weekend, or every other week, with friends that were in the same position was just fantastic because I wasn’t thinking about, ‘oh my god, I miss home’ or all this is happening or whatever. It just meant I was living in the moment. I was trying other things. We were planning to do other things together and it was just really good integration. Yeah. 

That first year really shaped my university experience. It wasn’t just that I was just say, getting to know the other Nigerians, it was also getting to meet people that are from Qatar, Oman and Jordan, people from Kazakhstan, literally all over the continent. So, whilst, yes, I was getting to understand the British culture and getting involved with that, getting immersed with that, it was also being open to the world at large. And then automatically that translates to you knowing so much more about other people’s cultures, about the way they live their lives, you being a little bit more aware of your surroundings and what is happening in the world, which I think is a fantastic option to experience for anybody. 

How has studying at Navitas made an impact on your life and that of your family?  

I think it’s really affected the way I look at life and the way I look at, like, analysing situations. And that’s just because coming from a background where everyone is like you, everyone thinks like you, everyone looks like you, you tend to think in a certain way, which is what is the status quo, what is accepted, whatever that may be. 

Now, going into the college, you’re obviously having to interact with different people, different ages as well, different upbringings, different backgrounds. They look different to you, they sound different to you, but you interact with them. And then you learn so much in the process that when you go back home, it’s almost like, actually we’ve been doing things XYZ way, we can change it up a little bit. And these are the reasons why, this is how it’s going to be better for us. 

So, that awareness that you wouldn’t have necessarily gotten by just being back home or being in your shell…I think that has been very visible in my family life, my working life. And I wouldn’t have gotten that level of awareness if I didn’t take that first, bold step. 

What have you achieved in your life and career since graduating?  

Since I graduated UPIC, I went on to the university, so did a law degree. Fortunately, I graduated with a first-class degree, which was fantastic at the time, over the moon, really excited, really happy, a lot of hard work. 

Along the way, I worked at the Student Union, that was fantastic as well. I worked as a sabbatical officer. It really gave me a lot of understanding of students in general, the university culture and the university as a business. Because, it’s one thing to attend a university or a college as an international student and it’s another thing to understand the business, understand the ethos and the values of the business and why the business is running, how the business operates and stuff like that. So, that was really good. 

Shortly after I graduated university, I went on to do a master’s in business and human resources. That was also a really good time. To be honest, it fell within the pandemic, so it was a different experience, because a lot of our classes ended up online. Whilst it was a thing to embrace the new way of working and living, it made me really appreciate my time at UPIC, which was really good. 

Shortly after the master’s, I got headhunted for a job, actually at my current place of work, KPMG, and I now work in indirect tax. I deal with VAT for large corporations. Those are the major highlights. 

What advice would you have for new students entering a pathway program with Navitas?  

Like Nike: just do it. Honestly, put yourself out there, don’t be scared. Get to meet people, be open and willing to experience whatever it brings. There’s going to be good days, there’s going to be not so good days. But honestly, when you look back, you would remember most of your good days more than your not so good days, because your not so good days wouldn’t be a lot. They wouldn’t be a lot. 

If you really put yourself out there and get immersed within the experience. You have such a fantastic time. You’d see that you learn so much, you experience so much, you make friends for life, and you can only do that if you take the first step and go for it.