What Happens When Your Dream Gets Taken Away At 18? with Nelson Tanyanyiwa

Nelson Tanyanyiwa grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe, under the flight path of the old international airport — chasing planes from his garden and dreaming of becoming a pilot. At 18 he passed the psychometric tests, the further maths, the further physics. He got in. His family couldn't afford it.

So he deferred. Took a gap year. And was offered an engineering scholarship by the very company he worked for that year. Fourteen years later, he's a Director.

But this episode isn't about construction. It's about what happens when the plan falls apart — and what you find on the other side of it.

We get into the weight of parental sacrifice. What it does to a child to be told at ten years old "your education is your only family." The CEO who rebuked Nelson for staying silent in a meeting — "I pay you for your voice. Don't ever come to a meeting I call and not voice your opinion." And YiTR — Youngest in the Room — the mentoring organisation Nelson built from over a decade of informal helping that grew too big to stay informal.

A stumbling block is not the end. This episode is proof of that.

🎙️ Connect with Nelson:

📸 @mnelta | @YITR_LTD

💼 LinkedIn: Nelson Tanyanyiwa

📩 ⁠nelson@yitr.co.uk ⁠ | 🌐 ⁠yitr.co.uk ⁠

📖 Book coming 2027: Youngest in the Room

🎙️ Hosted by Tino Bvunzawabaya

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