Igor grew up in a small city in Brazil. Growing up, he was always curious to learn physics and mathematics and understand more about the universe. This differed from his traditional family upbringing, where religion was more important, and Igor believed he couldn’t follow his passions as freely as he wanted.
When Igor was 14, his mother passed away and it was a tough adjustment for him as he shut down emotionally, while his performance at school suffered. Still grieving, and struggling in an unsupportive environment, Igor avoided pursuing a career and he forgot about many of his dreams and interests.
An opportunity to start fresh came when he was 21 years old, and he decided to come to London to join his girlfriend to begin his studies in electronic engineering. His first role at ISS was as a cleaning operative, and he considered this as temporary while he pursued his studies.