Post by Kanto Raveloson

💛 A year ago around this time, I got accepted to Harvard University, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, University of Cambridge, etc. 👉 And today, I am helping and mentoring students to do the same. Most university decisions have already come out, and I’m so happy to see the results. 🎉 Students I’ve worked with have been accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley, and we are still waiting for a few more decisions. Seeing this makes me emotional because my own journey was far from linear. 🇲🇬 I grew up in Madagascar, later attended community college in the U.S., transferred to UC Berkeley, and today I study at Harvard. But the path was not easy. I had to take gap years to work and survive before returning to school. I had to figure out many things on my own, which often meant taking the longer route. For example, I applied to the University of Cambridge 3 times before I got accepted. Along the way, I also had mentors, professors, and people who believed in me, sometimes more than I believed in myself. 🙌 That is why, for the past two years, I’ve been helping students however I can — through webinars, resources, and guidance with college applications. Our webinar today for African students aiming to apply to Harvard was one example of that. Thank you to our amazing panelists and moderators, and to the 200+ people who joined us today. 🚀 I also have a Facebook page where you can find past webinars and resources for students who want to study abroad: https://lnkd.in/eQdCvJvv Applying to universities abroad from Africa is extremely challenging, financially, but also because of the lack of information, mentorship, and language barriers. When you arrive at places like Harvard or University of California, Berkeley, you realize that very few Africans are represented here. That’s one of the reasons I do this. To everyone who got accepted this year: congratulations, I’m so happy for you. And if things didn’t go as planned, don’t get discouraged. Keep learning, keep building yourself, and keep seeking opportunities. 😄 Because in the end, what matters most is what you do with the opportunities you have. I am grateful to be able to make meaningful changes in people’s lives, all Glory to God!! ✨ Have a great week everyone!