Meet the Team: Yadavi’s Story

Hi, I’m Yadavi from Millie! I worked as a summer intern and am now a content writer producing some of the articles you’ve read on our website. Today I want to tell you about my story before and with Millie.

A bit about me

“I want to share my experience with change, and the importance of having an international community”

Moving countries and schools taught me a lot about change and adapting to new environments, and the importance of embracing rather than resisting change. But we’ll get onto that part of my story later. First, let me tell you a bit about me. Born and raised in the UK, with an Indian heritage, I spent most of my childhood in London, and then my teenage years in Switzerland. I later moved back to the UK for my last two years of schooling and university. Currently, I’m an undergraduate student at the University of Warwick, studying Economics, Psychology and Philosophy (with Warwick being the only university in the UK to offer such a course to undergrads). You can read more about Warwick and my first year experiences on our website, but that’s not what I want to focus on today. What I want to share with you is my experience with change, and the importance of having an international community.

My international journey (and being thrust into a new environment)!

“Embrace the change”

My international journey started when I moved to an international school in Switzerland for my Middle School (Grade 6 / Year 7). Previously, I had always been at the same school, with the same group of friends, in my cosy little comfort zone. And then out of the blue, change. All the stability which I’d been used to in the home I’d grown up in and the people I’d grown up with was suddenly taken away as I was thrust into a new environment. I had to adjust to not only a new school, but also a new language and culture. Suffice to say, it was a big change. At first, I made the mistake of resisting the change. I constantly wished to go back to the UK and my old life, and didn’t let go of the past to experience the present. A piece of advice to anyone going into a similar situation: embrace the change. “If you focus on what you left behind, you will never see what lies ahead” ~ a profound insight by Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille (yep, you can learn a lot from Disney movies).

Eventually, with the help of friends and family, I started to accept the change and adapt to my new life in Switzerland, and realised that I kind of loved it there! The moment I started letting go of the past, I was able to see what a beautiful place Switzerland is, and just how lucky I was to be living there. I joined the school band, debating club, and the netball team, taking an active role in the school community. My grades started going up again and I started making some of the closest friends I have till date. Integrating myself in my school community allowed me to meet more people and keep myself busy, two things I have always strived to do ever since. I managed to learn so much from that school, about myself, academics, and general life skills (including speaking French and learning to ski, which became a lot more fun after I stopped falling every five minutes)!

Change yet again

After I had found my rhythm in Switzerland, it quickly started to feel like home, and I fully expected to spend the rest of my schooling there until I moved away for university. But change striked again! After finishing my IGCSEs, I found out in a short space of time that I’d be moving back to the UK. Again I felt the inertia to stay put and not have to move schools. But this time I was more ready for the change. I quickly realised that while the change might not be easy at the start (change never is), it quickly gets better and everything falls into place. We ended up finding a house to rent, choosing a school and moving back to the UK in the span of 10 days - talk about a hectic time!

“While the change might not be easy at the start (change never is), it quickly gets better”

I made the decision to go to an international IB school rather than a British A-Levels school. This was because in Switzerland, I had seen the importance and benefits of an international community. It allowed me to learn so much about different cultures, and showed me that the world is so much bigger than just the country you live in (sounds obvious I know, but it can be very easy to start thinking of the world as your little bubble). The exposure you get in an international community is like no other. Then there’s the IB aspect. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the IB, it is an International Baccalaureate programme for high school students (the equivalent of A-Levels or AP). My school in Switzerland was also an IB school, so I was always mentally preparing for it. I had also seen the benefits of the IB; despite it being a harder degree due to the number of subjects and work intensity, I knew it would prepare me better for university and allow me to learn a wider range of subjects to find out what I wanted to do. If you’re thinking of taking the IB, we have a bunch of blog resources on our website about choosing IB subjects.

That’s what brought me to the decision to study at an international IB school. And it was one of the best choices I made, as I learned so much and made friends almost instantly! My experience of moving schools once allowed me to adapt very quickly to the new environment. That’s another thing - the first change will be hard, but progressively they get easier and easier until you’re a pro at dealing with it! This is what made settling into university a lot easier as well.

My journey from a sheltered comfortable environment, to the international dynamity of Switzerland and back to the UK for IB taught me so much about the importance of internationalism and of embracing change. It has shaped who I am as a person and has prepared me to deal with any changes life throws at me.

Joining Millie

‘"What if I fall?"

“Oh but my darling, what if you fly?”’ ~ Erin Hanson

Towards the end of my IB experience, Millie hosted a talk for my school about using LinkedIn, and gave the opportunity to apply for a summer internship as a content writer. This is where I met Jenna, one of the CEO’s at Millie, who gave a piece of advice that I have tried to incorporate in all parts of my life: “If you don’t ask, you don’t get”. You have to be a go-getter in life, opportunities won’t just come to you.

That is what prompted me to apply to Millie, and now a year later, I am still part of the thriving Millie community that exemplifies everything I believe in about internationalism and pushing yourself to grow. If you want to be a part of this and challenge yourself to try something new, apply to intern at Millie and you could be a part of a team that helps international school students like yourself to navigate change and academic journeys.