Victory Onephrojire

Victory grew up in Delta State, Nigeria. She said her family encouraged her to do her master's, as it was a regular tradition for their family to pursue a master's after their initial undergraduate studies.

“My sister influenced the decision to study in Liverpool as she was already living in the UK. Given my personality and love for vibrant and buzzing cities, I knew Liverpool was the place. LJMU stood out because of its ranking, student life, reviews, preferred programme of study and the tuition.”

Victory did her bachelor's in accounting and worked in accounting-related roles. She needed a change in pace and chose international business and management as she had also set up her own baking business.

“Being a business owner, a degree in business and management was quite appealing to me.”

Victory did a pre-master's programme delivered at the International Study Centre by Study Group, helping to enhance her understanding of the business management field, as well as preparing her to study in a second language.

She described the tutors and staff as excellent, friendly and welcoming. She finished her pre-master's programme with distinction and believes this was because of her tutors' hands-on approach and dedication.

“The tutors were all invested in giving us a smooth transition into the next stage of our programme. Dawn and Bianca were instrumental; they encouraged, motivated and pushed me, and I am grateful for that.”

Alongside her own postgraduate studies, Victory took the time to volunteer as a student mentor, working closely with her mentees to coordinate a transition programme and to run Q&A sessions. In her experience, she really enjoyed sharing her story with her mentees and speaking to people with similar challenges.

“It was a very fulfilling role; I could make a difference, and it was an avenue to meet and interact with new people.”

Victory was looking forward to broadening her horizons socially and academically. The master's course she did at LJMU did just that. The course offered new challenges and experiences, preparing her to deal with business and work-related issues in diverse scenarios. She was lucky to be one of only 18 students chosen from her department to go on a school trip to Prague, where she could see first-hand in practice what she had learned during the two semesters.

Talking about the future, Victory says: “Having just concluded my master's, I hope to continue exploring business-related opportunities in a diverse environment. I hope to spend some time in the UK exploring the business sector, the workplace, and further experiencing its people.”

Victory believes that studying in a different country, though daunting at first while trying to adjust to a new environment, culture and studies, can be an advantageous move. “It is best to soak it all in, explore new opportunities as much as you can, make new friends, learn new things, taste new meals and live at the moment.”