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Borderless Minds Podcast

Jado & Christian 20 Episodes Dec 21, 2025

A podcast that aims to start conversations benefiting young people who are studying abroad or planning to study overseas. The hosts share their own experiences to help listeners navigate college life, work permits, and investment opportunities. The show focuses on the US diaspora and provides insights for a smoother transition.

Episodes

Cerise Inganji Part 3 of 3: Perseverance, Sacrifices and Traveling Dec 21, 2025 2442 In the final part of this series, Cerise reflects on the perseverance it takes to be an immigrant and the importance of reminding yourself how far you’ve already come. She shares how gathering old documents while preparing to file for her green card, became a powerful reminder of everything she endured along the way. Cerise, Christian and Jado talk about the sacrifices that come with the pursuit o

Cerise Inganji Part 2 of 3: Career, Visas and the Green Card Journey Dec 14, 2025 3803 In this episode, Cerise continues her journey, sharing how she moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to Nashville, Tennessee to work for a major company, all while navigating life on OPT, knowing the clock was already ticking. She reflects on the importance of maintaining strong relationships and the emotional toll of living on a visa. Cerise opens up about the highs and lows of balancing school, part-

Cerise Inganji Part 1 of 3: Culture Shock, Career Fairs & Courage Dec 10, 2025 3650 In this episode, Cerise shares her journey from growing up in Rwanda to studying in the U.S. on a prestigious presidential scholarship. She talks about how her childhood dream of becoming a pharmacist shifted once she got to college and discovered engineering. Cerise walks us through the culture shocks of moving to America, the transition into college life, and how a career fair led to the interns

Borderless Minds Podcast Season 2 Premiere | Reflections, Career Editions & Policy Talk Oct 16, 2025 1743 In this introductory episode of Season 2, Christian and Jado look back on their most memorable moments from Borderless Minds Season 1. They share what stood out from each guest — the lessons, laughter, and stories that defined our first season. As they look ahead, Christian & Jado tease exciting new additions for Season 2, including the Career Editions — a deeper dive into real career journeys

Nancy Umutoniwase: Part 3 of 3: From Internship to Job Offer | Navigating Work, Community & Future Goals Jun 15, 2025 3485 In this episode, Nancy shares how a friend looked out for her and helped her craft a strong resume and how networking opened the door to a paid summer internship in Arizona - An internship that resulted into a job offer before graduation. Nancy talks about the challenges of securing work permits and getting experience/internships while still in schoolNancy reflects on how the internship changed th

Nancy Umutoniwase: Part 2 of 3: Nancy’s Journey of Growth, Struggle & Finding Purpose in College Jun 8, 2025 3785 In this episode, Nancy continues to share her journey as she recalls the 14-hour bus ride from Kentucky to West Virginia University (WVU).She recalls feeling the reality of being independent as her mom was getting ready to leave her by herself. Faced with anxiety about adjusting, succeeding, and finding her place, she began to question if she could handle it all. Things started to shift when she c

Nancy Umutoniwase: Part 1 of 3: From Rwanda to WVU — A Journey of Faith and Family Jun 1, 2025 3808 In this episode, Nancy shares her inspiring journey from Rwanda to West Virginia. 🇷🇼✈️🇺🇸 She first arrived in the U.S. in 2014, landing in Kentucky with her mom and siblings before taking a 14-hour bus ride to Morgantown, WV. But her story begins much earlier. Nancy opens up about her experience at Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology—a place she didn’t want to attend at first but her d

Rubis Ngenzi - Part 3 of 3 [In Kinyarwanda]: Life After Graduation & the Journey Back Home May 18, 2025 4211 In the final episode of this inspiring series, Rubis reflects on the unexpected path his post-grad life took.He shares how learning Spanish to impress a girl led to an internship in Colombia 🇨🇴, and how that experience shaped his next steps.From graduating in the U.S. to navigating the job search, OPT process, and landing his first interview in New York—Rubis opens up about the highs, the hard les

Rubis Ngenzi - Part 2 of 3 [in Kinyarwanda]: Rubis on his desire to go to a US College, his experiences and finding his identity May 11, 2025 4230 In this episode, Rubis talks about why he wanted to go to College in the US - Dreams to play Basketball and in the NBA - his expectations and his reality when he arrived on campus.Rubis and Christian, who both were at the same college, discuss about Rubis' transition and how Christian helped make it easier as his roommate.Rubis discusses his early memories of racism in a statistics class and how t

Rubis Ngenzi - Part 1 of 3: Rubis on growing up as a refugee, basketball's impact on him and reminiscing on high school days May 4, 2025 3156 In this episode, Rubis looks back on his early childhood memories growing up in Congo and fleeing to Rwanda in 1996. He also shares stories from his high school days and talks about how basketball had a big, positive impact on his life.The episode—and the whole series—is a mix of Kinyarwanda and English.

Kelly Umutoni - Part 4 of 4: Kelly on Job Hunting during the pandemic, Anxiety and Lessons Learned Mar 26, 2025 3078 In the final installment of the series, Kelly opens up about her post-grad school journey and her challenges entering the job market during the COVID-19 pandemic. She recalls using a volunteer opportunity at her alma mater to pause the countdown on her OPT—just four days shy of the deadline. As Kelly reflects on navigating stress and anxiety during the pandemic, she shares the raw experience of he

Kelly Umutoni - Part 3 of 4: Kelly on Mental Health, Grad School, and Navigating the Pandemic Mar 5, 2025 3760 In Part 3 of the series, Kelly reflects on her journey of returning home and struggling with depression, which she coped with by diving into work and spending time at restaurants. She shares how she felt disconnected from cultural norms she didn’t necessarily align with anymore. This led Kelly to start journaling, giving her a way to process her emotions and make sense of her experiences. Kelly al

Kelly Umutoni - Part 2 of 4: Kelly’s college and post college journey Feb 23, 2025 3819 In this episode, Kelly opens up about her college experience at a Christian school, the challenges of navigating life after graduation, and the ups and downs of job hunting.She reflects on how she discovered the difference between a professional and non-professional architectural degree and how it impacted her job prospects.Kelly also shares how a serious injury during school tested her resilience

A conversation with Kelly Umutoni - Part 1 of 4: Kelly’s High School Journey in the U.S. Feb 16, 2025 3038 In the first episode of this series, Kelly shares her experience attending a boarding school in the U.S. as an international student. She opens up about adapting to the American education system, overcoming language barriers, and navigating high school sports.Kelly also reflects on the anxiety of college applications, the weight of expectations, and the challenge of finding a sense of belonging wi

A conversation with Igor Ngabo: studying abroad, H1B visa and work permits, grad school and working at the NIH Jan 29, 2025 7314 In this episode, Igor shares his unique journey—from being an international high school student at a U.S. boarding school, to studying a semester abroad in the U.K. during college.He opens up about why he decided against medical school, how his career took a different path, and the challenges he faced with work permits and visas. Plus, he shares valuable insights on what he wishes he’d known back

Adjusting to the New American System and Life Dec 12, 2024 4153 In this episode, Jado and Christian discuss their new life in the U.S., including the adjustments to different systems like the metric system and currency. They also share their first school experiences, dealing with the freshman 15, job searches, and more funny stories.

A Conversation with Kenny Ntwali Nov 11, 2024 5471 In this episode, we are excited to introduce our first guest and entrepreneur, Kenny Ntwali!Kenny shares his journey, from navigating life as an international student in the U.S. during high school and college to the unique experiences of post-graduation life. Kenny also dives into why he chose to pursue entrepreneurship in Rwanda instead of staying in the U.S. Join us for a fun and insightful con

Coming to America, Travel plans and First week on campus Oct 10, 2024 4808 In this episode, Jado and Christian talk about their coming to America travel plans, share stories of their travel experience and their first day in America.

College Applications, Visas, and Embassy Interviews Sep 19, 2024 3552 In this episode, Jado and Christian take you through their personal journeys, from navigating the college application process to visa applications and their experiences during embassy interviews.As Christian reminisces about his high school basketball days, he and Jado set the stage for the podcast by exploring their motivations for studying abroad in the U.S. Jado also recalls memorizing every de

Introduction Aug 28, 2024 2899 In this first episode, Jado and Christian delve into the start of their personal journeys to study abroad in the US. They explore their current activities and how they arrived at choosing their college majors, including the influences behind those choices. They also discuss the factors that led them to select their respective schools and the associated costs of attending college. Additionally, Jad

Borderless Minds Podcast

Episodes

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