Chinonso Anatune
The path everyone points you toward is not the only one that leads somewhere worth going.
I grew up believing there was one particular kind of success I was meant to chase, and one route to get there.
I went to St Olave’s Grammar School, a place that’s selective, high-achieving, and quietly clear about where its students are meant to end up. I came out with A Levels in History, Religious Studies and Maths, and every door to the traditional route wide open. After studying Philosophy and Theology at the University of Nottingham for a year, I did the unexpected and dropped out.
I joined Schroders as an apprentice and learned the business from the inside, moving through multiple placements across IT while a lot of my peers were still deciding what they wanted to be. I finished my Level 3 with a merit and picked up my Azure Fundamentals, ITIL v4 and ServiceNow Fundamentals certifications along the way. Quiet proof, building up, that the decision had been the right one.
Through Investment 20/20 I started volunteering at events and standing up in schools, telling young people the truth I wished someone had told me: that growth isn’t linear, that you don’t need it all figured out at eighteen, that there’s more than one door. The first time was nerve wracking. Then I watched a room of teenagers lean in, and realised this mattered to me as much as anything on my CV.
These days, alongside my work in tech and financial services, public speaking is where I put the most energy. I read, I travel, and I still suffer for Arsenal. But one thread runs through it all - I’m genuinely passionate about early careers and apprenticeships, because the route that changed my life is the one nobody told me about, and I don’t want the next young person to miss it
