My Journey

A reflection of the path I’ve walked, the person I’ve become, and the values I hold close.

Where It All Started

Back in school, as a student leader, I was part of all the activities: designing, planning, and executing policies, projects, and festivals. During my high school, (The Trust School) , I led a project that caught the attention of my Headmaster. One day, he mentioned a program by Seeds of Peace, where students can apply and attend a Summer Camp in the US and suggested that I should apply.

In 2014, I applied for the program, but didn’t get selected. This was a huge dream for me, so I kept going and engaged myself in the local Seeds of Peace Programs. In 2015, I applied again but got shortlisted as an alternate fellow. I must say I was quite hurt and disappointed, feeling my dream has come to an end.

At the same time, Hiram College, Ohio had their Young Research Scholar Exchange program for which they sent an invitation to our school to participate. I was shortlisted by the school management to lead the program. I conducted the detailed selection process for the other delegates and also prepared visa applications for them. Everything was happening right before the Summer in 2015.

Then one day, I received a call from one of the representatives of Seeds of Peace. They informed me that the visa for a finalized fellow got rejected, and I was now the finalized fellow. I was happy, shocked, and confused all at once. I had to decide between two huge opportunities: the Hiram College’s Young Exchange Research Scholar program or Seeds of Peace. It was difficult because both programs overlapped for about 10 days. After a lot of thought, I chose Seeds of Peace, it just felt right.

I made the right decision as through Seeds of Peace, I met fellows from all around the world, and it led to opportunities I never thought I could get or imagined them to even exist.. For the first time, I was in a room where nobody cared about my grades. They cared about my questions. They challenged my assumptions. They pushed me to think beyond borders, beyond binaries, beyond the comfortable stories I’d always been told.

That one experience broke something open inside me. Suddenly, I saw what education could be: a place where people discover who they are, not just what they can memorize.

The Spark That Started Everything

I came back home restless (that restlessness, I still feel today). When you’re young, restless, and broke, you don’t write policy papers, you start small experiments. A borrowed camera. A Facebook page. A video about the cracks in our education system. This was my first little project with the name: True Education. And in parallel, I kept scribbling poems in Urdu that no one else was reading yet. Then I started teaching a few kids. Then many more. Soon it became more than just a few, I was able to create the magnitude of impact that I never thought was possible.

I never planned to “build ventures.” I just kept building things that didn’t exist but probably should have.

Since then, every venture, every fellowship, every bootcamp I’ve launched has grown out of that same spark, not waiting for permission. Not waiting to “become something.” Just taking initiatives and learning from them. I was often told to wait till I have become something, and then build anything; this only pushed me to do more.

I went to Cyprus the very next year as the youngest fellow who had started making an impact in society. This was an Advanced Leadership Program by Seeds of Peace, and this is where I planned to convert my content creation into an organization to really take it to the grassroot level. That organization became Ilm Kada—a platform to inspire young people to drive social change through volunteerism, content creation, and community projects. [You can explore the full Ilm Kada story on this page (linked to the page)] Ever since then, I have never looked back. I never stopped.

Working During the University

When I started university, my professional journey had already begun as I was already working part-time at Khud, an educational initiative where I taught Graphic & Video editing. I was also leading my own organization, Ilm Kada (formerly, ACT Youth Force). I was very active in Student Clubs, took lectures for the sake of it, learning whatever I could, but my professional life began to thrive.

Soon, I took another part-time role at Beyond the Classroom Education, where I founded the Bulandi Fellowship Program.

I grew from Assistant Program Manager to Operations Manager at Beyond the Classroom, designing programs that turned learning into journeys of personal and professional growth. During my time at Beyond the Classroom, I also had the opportunity to lead two international leadership programs in Sri Lanka which added great memories and experiences to my journey.

Kept Building (2019-20)

In 2019, I started Kicksat Preparations, which became a journey of its own. It started as a project where we wanted to create a large impact, offering courses at prices like no one else—making GRE and SAT preparation accessible and affordable, even free for those who needed it. It kept growing, and we kept expanding.

My months were packed with classes, counseling sessions, and curriculum development—I was just busy, but it was the kind of busy that fueled my soul.

Have a look at this post that I posted on Facebook after Summer 2019: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15p52Jhqts/

When COVID came, I shifted everything online but never stopped teaching. Somehow, life kept pushing me to create an impact, so I kept doing what I could.

Expanding Horizons

After COVID, Beyond the Classroom decided to expand their horizon. I worked with them to build a space for therapists to offer their sessions—a place where the community could come together and feel safe. I built the initial infrastructure from designing the therapy rooms to finding therapists, from onboarding a co-founder to seeing the first success that led to another therapy room being set up. The space is still growing. It is called The Safe Space.

This was my last year at university, and I felt I wouldn’t be able to grow in learning and role at Beyond the Classroom, so I transitioned out. I wanted to take a break to complete my last semester easily, but fate had different plans.

I remember clearly deciding that I would take a rest, but then I saw an opportunity and just took it up. I joined as the first team member at Institute of Emerging Careers, where I focused on transforming underserved Pakistani youth by teaching vital digital skills. I helped the organization grow with 1000+ learners, 30+ team members, and over 20,000 applicants over time.

The Present Chapter

In 2022, I moved to the UK. This move allowed me to carry everything I had built into a global context. I joined a US based EdTech, Health Tech Academy as the first member of the product and training operations team. Today, I serve as the Sr. Product Manager and Head of Training Operations. I design online training bootcamps for US Allied Healthcare Professionals, craft curriculum for more than 14 certification programs, and lead teams in student support, academic advising, career coaching, and product development.

In parallel, I expanded into business coaching. At Impact Hub Yorkshire (UK), I coach and mentor early-stage founders—helping them refine their business models, build products, and strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. From classrooms to fellowships to startups—it’s all still about building people who can build.

Through all these ventures—Ilm Kada inspiring young people to drive social change, Kicksat Preparations making test prep accessible and affordable, and now Health Tech Academy democratizing healthcare education—the thread remains the same. Each organization grows from that same restless energy that started in a borrowed room with a borrowed camera.

Where I Stand Today?

If there’s one thing that defines my journey:

You don’t need permission to start.
You don’t need credentials to contribute.
You just need to build. Learn. Iterate. And keep moving.

Today, I continue building: across EdTech, product design, youth leadership, healthcare training, business coaching, and global learning systems.

Final thoughts?

At the end of the day, everything I am doing isn’t just about building organizations or designing curriculum, it’s about that moment in 2015 when I realized education could be transformative, not transactional.

This is where it all started. And it still does. Every day, with every new program, every student who discovers their potential, every moment when someone realizes they don’t need permission to start building the change they want to see.

The journey continues, one experiment at a time. Let’s see what is next.