Victor

I grew up in Barking and Dagenham, one of London's top 10 most deprived boroughs. It made me resourceful and resilient, but it also came with limitations. I had big ambitions such as going to a top university, securing a high-paying job and one day ease the pressure on my mum after everything she had sacrificed for me.

But wanting something and knowing how to get there are two very different things. I had no clear path and access to people who had done it before. I knew what I wanted. I just didn't have the networks, the information or the exposure to make it feel possible.

Everything changed when I joined the Social Mobility Foundation's Aspiring Professionals Programme in 2018. For the first time, I stepped inside corporate banks like Schroders as part of the London Banking & Finance Futures Day, attended an insight day at Cambridge University and made friends with like-minded people who refused to shrink their ambitions. Through workshops and skills sessions, my confidence grew and mindset shifted.

I went on to receive a full social mobility scholarship to study Economics at the University of Warwick, secured internships at Credit Suisse and eventually worked as an Equity Trader at the investment bank. But the biggest shift was internal. Travelling beyond my neighbourhood, meeting people from different backgrounds and being exposed to new ways of thinking broke through the glass ceiling my upbringing had quietly placed above me.

That journey led me to study Entrepreneurship at Cambridge Judge Business School and ultimately to found the Valuable Community. I've paved a new career as a social entrepreneur.

Today, through retreats, workshops, talks and social spaces, I create life-changing opportunities for young adults from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Under my leadership, Valuable Community has supported over 300 young people and built a growing community rooted in belonging, ambition and excellence.