Stepping Stones to Life Changing Journeys

I am Joel, one of the consultants over at MABECS. I started advising Malaysian students on UK universities after my move to Malaysia during the lockdown. To explain how I ended up here, let us take a few steps back. I was born on a tiny island in Britain called the Isle of Man. Imagine, it was so tiny that up to when I was 10 years-old, there wasn’t even a McDonald’s in sight - and to top it off there was only one cinema!?

At 16, I moved to Yorkshire with my family and studied my A-levels. To be quite honest, I only went to university because it was the ‘expected’ thing for my generation to do; not knowing what I wanted to do when I was older and not having any idea how useful it would be, I enrolled and undertook my BA in Sociology in Manchester.

I can truly say being at university was one of the best times in my life - the travelling, the independence, and the friends. That being said, the long hours in the library, and a couple of ‘all-nighters’ writing papers for next day submissions and budgeting were some of the most challenging parts. But it gave me fond memories, skills and allowed me to be more open-minded. Sure, university is primarily about studying, but for me it was much more than that… it was being able to go on a journey and creating friendships, cultivating skills and memories that will last a lifetime.

Upon graduating, I worked at my university in the student recruitment department. After four years, I decided it was time to travel; something that I would never have done had I still lived on my tiny Isle of Man. I felt university (study and work) was a stepping stone which elevated my confidence and gave me the courage to travel around the globe.?

Since then, I have travelled around the USA, Australia and Asia and along the way even met my wife! I am now living in Malaysia, and enjoy helping students embark on what I hope are their own life-changing journeys.