Conversation Summary
I got to speak to Adom through a mutual friend in late 2019.
At the time of this interview he was a market development rep for Kipsu by day; whilst working with a friend to build an app to help income electricians navigate their careers by night. He was well into his year of OPT (Optional Practical Training), a working visa given to international students who wish to work in the US. With the limit of a year, his goal was to find “what [he] can learn that will work towards my goal of starting a company in Ghana.”
But before this Adom grew up in Ghana. Since grade 9 he always had dreams of going to the US, with a lot of his perceptions about life overseas coming from TV shows and movies. In his school, there was not an obvious route on how this would be possible for him, but he knew that this was his goal, and so he made the plays necessary to get there. “I just really wanted to experience the US, there are more opportunities”
Now there was a lot to get from this interview so you can listen to the interview audio for the full picture but I’ll give some main points:
Perception vs Reality
However, when getting to the US and looking back in his words “[the]Perception I had was very naïve”. He anticipated the college experience to be like that of the show Blue Mountain State but found it to be a lot more study and work-intensive. This was also a common theme upon graduation where you don’t just get to stay in the country, you are on the visa limit.
As part of getting to terms with that change, he advises upcoming graduates to reach out to alumni, to ask questions as simple as how do you get by, and live after University.
Asking question
As part of getting to terms with living in the real world, he advises upcoming graduates to reach out to alumni, to ask questions as simple as how do you get by, and live after University.
Adom also has a love for entrepreneurship and has tried to start some projects himself, he admires the work of Nadayar Enegesi, one of the founders of Andela. If he could, he would love the opportunity to sit with him and learn how people think on that level.
Adom dropped so many bits of wisdom throughout the conversation so please listen to the audio for the full thing, but that final bit of advice he said, that I want to share, is this:
For those seeking a path outside the traditional he says “you need to be ready for trials and tribulations”. He talks about the importance of hustle, with the main goal being to expand the options of what is possible for you to do.
