It's been a long journey both geographically and in a sporting sense for the boy from Ukraine once denied a collegeplace due to his sub-standard football.
An image shows the word "NEET". More than one in 10 teenagers has been left without a job or collegeplace, despite 11 years of compulsory education, figures show.
Now that women are the majority of college students and surpass men in both the number of undergraduate and advanced degrees awarded, one might think the college campus is a pretty equal place.