An excerpt from the book ‘Traversing the Terrible Twenties‘
A book by Nthanda Manduwi (Sequel to By the End of your Teens)
22nd March, 2022:
“Dear Nthanda,
On behalf of the senior management of the UNDP Independent Evaluation Office and the Graduate Programme team within the UNDP Office of Human Resources, I am very pleased to inform you that you have been selected for the graduate position in the New York office. Your contract start date is 07th April, 2022. Congratulations!”
***
My favorite thing about myself is that I believe in possibilities.
When I moved to New York City in 2022 to join the United Nations, it was both a culmination and an upheaval. I was leaving behind a thriving company I had built — a life I loved — and stepping into the unknown in a new country, a new system, with a heavy heart.
Leaving to Live
When I left Malawi for the US, my mother was in extremis. I was desperately anxious that I would not get to see her again, but she was adamant that I go. Lonnie had been my anchor, and she had just released me to go live. She lived as long as she could so I could live — and when she eventually let go, three months into my mission, I had no choice but to move forward.
New York City never quite felt like home. When I asked, I often go to the extremes of saying I actually disliked New York as a city.
New York vibrates with an anxiety that I couldn’t fully settle into — a restlessness born from being at the extreme end of capitalism, where survival was an endless hustle.
Security was a luxury few had.
Existence was a constant negotiation.
I spent two years in that system — living, learning, surviving.
The United Nations itself — as much as it was an honor to work there — showed me the deep, often invisible fractures in the world’s systems.
It wasn’t that people were cruel.
In fact, most were kind.
But I realized: even kindness cannot fix structures built on broken foundations.
It was at the Independent Evaluation Office where I gained perspective — the gift of oversight — and saw clearly how deeply entrenched the world’s challenges are.
It wasn’t about not working hard enough; it was about the sheer weight of systemic realities that cannot be “fixed” by passion alone.
And then, another reset.
The Leap of Faith
April of 2024, my two years at the UN were complete, and I was to step away — from a path many dream of — and into the uncertainty of an MBA journey.
I moved back to Malawi.
I left everything behind in New York — dishes still in the sink, a few suits hastily packed into a $200 Macy’s suitcase I bought last-minute after attending my ‘Admitted Students Day’ at Michigan State University, jumping into an Uber on my way to my home.
There was no grand plan. No clear guarantees. Just trust.
Rooted in Work, Called to Go
When I landed in Malawi, life caught me immediately.
My students from the M’mawa Apprenticeship Programme were waiting with their final presentations.
The World Bank Digital Malawi project, delayed until my return, handed over equipment to our hub.
And the UN Country Team in Malawi invited me to speak at their annual retreat— one of only three youth invited by the Resident Coordinator.
That week, I felt it:
I belonged.
Not because of the UN name — but because of the work, the heart, the groundedness.
Then the work (networking and delivering speeches) began.
Universities. Embassies. Panels. Keynotes.
Rebuilding my businesses.
Launching projects.
Traveling across Malawi, filming podcasts, connecting with communities.
It became the busiest season of my life.
And somewhere in that motion, by June, I told my dad:
“I think I’m ready to go back.”
I worked to secure my STEM visa, a five-year blessing.
I accepted a loan offer from the UN — a door that should not have opened post-employment, but did.
The Universe was looking out for me.
I spent the last of my money preparing for this return to the United States — betting it all on faith.
Building From Thin Air
I arrived back in New York with no concrete plan, just hope.
And somehow, life met me:
- I moved my little life from New York to Michigan, my first U.S. cross-state move — a whole education in itself.
- I celebrated my 29th birthday in Miami, a small exhale before beginning my MBA program — another hard reset, another new beginning.
- I was hired as a Career Liaison at the beginning of my MBA program.
- I was hired as a Graduate Assistant — which delightedly covers my tuition, and gives me a living stipend.
Fighting for a Future
Recruiting — a very important part of the MBA, was tough on me.
Most U.S. companies do not sponsor international students.
I was struggling with coursework, grappling with a new education system, trying to keep my (partial) scholarship afloat.
I at a point paused my company’s operations to focus.
And still, it felt like I was falling behind.
One day, my friend, Sheggz, called me.
“How’s recruiting?” he asked.
I laughed.
“I’m not recruiting — I’m failing finance and accounting.”
He sat on the call with me in that anxiety. He sent me links supply chain roles.
I applied for those — and, almost on a whim, also for business development and marketing roles available in the Microsoft Careers website.
Two weeks later, an email arrived.
Spammy-looking at first — until I realized:
Microsoft wanted to interview me.
The interview day was magic.
I met with the Xbox team, and the connection was instant.
A few months after I had accepted the offer, and I as I was undergoing my on-boarding, the team shared with me that while everyone they interviewed was great, there was something about me — a unanimous certainty that I was an incredible candidate for their business needs.
The Restoration
I didn’t know then, but that was the universe affirming every risk I had taken.
In November of 2024, I was invited to deliver a keynote on Youth Skilling and Innovation in Kigali, Rwanda at the 2024 Youth Connect Africa Summit. After I had JUST boarded the flight, the final email came through:
Congratulations. You have been offered the internship.
I didn’t sleep the whole flight.
Gratitude, disbelief, joy — all wrapped together.
This was never just about getting a job.
It was about surviving the leap.
It was about risking my companies, my old career, my certainty — for a future that wasn’t promised.
It was about choosing to begin again.
Choosing hope, even when the path was invisible.
Choosing myself, even when the world didn’t guarantee a soft landing.
And today, one year after leaving the UN,
I stand restored —
grateful for a universe that caught me when I leapt.
Grateful for the courage to begin again.
And if you are standing on the edge of uncertainty: I hope you find the courage to begin again, too.
How to Get a Job at the United Nations: Insights from a Former UN Young Professional
✨ If you made it this far — thank you for honoring my story.
If you are here because you are curious about building your own journey into the United Nations (and perhaps beyond), I wrote a second post just for you.
➔ Read here: How to Get a Job at the United Nations
I hope it gives you clarity, courage, and maybe a few shortcuts I had to find the hard way. 🤍
with Courage and a lot of Love,
Ntha
CONNECT WITH NTHANDA ONLINE:
About the Author
