How does it feel to be back?
It feels genuinely good, the STG is a place where we've spent so much time, we have countless and invaluable memories, so it's definitely like a piece of my heart.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your time at STG?
The most valuable lesson that I got from the STG was to be creative. The world is complex, there are many struggles and endeavors to go through, and creativeness is the solution almost any time I would say.
How did your time during the Master in Transnational Governance prepare you for your career?
My journey at the STG was very formative and it helped me build the theoretical foundations for working in academia and understanding my path.
What advice would you give to current students at the STG?
My advice for current students of the STG is to be patient. Have fun and really take advantage of any opportunity and human interaction you will have at the STG, because you will have many, and all of them will prove salient and essential in your path.
How did your professors contribute to your learning experience?
I think that my professors had a great impact on my learning experience. They were perfect in striking the right balance between theory and practice in a more policy-oriented education.
They valued creativeness and disruptive thinking, and encouraged me and my fellows to think outside the box. They were impactful and an enormous part of the STG and of our learning journey.
What skills did you develop during the master that you now use in your current role?
In my current role, the skills that I use the most and that I developed over the course of my master are research skills, drafting skills, and writing skills. Not only that, but we also had many courses on negotiation, or as we say “the power of getting things done”. I think that it's very important to enter a career, a job position, feeling that you have agency over things, because that makes you feel comfortable.
So, for me it was not only about researching and learning theoretical foundations of things, but also about understanding what kind of person I am and how I can contribute to my work environment and to my institution.
How has your experience at the STG changed or shaped your worldview?
I think that the Master in Transnational Governance made me see the world in a network shape which, I think, is the future of how we are going to look at the world.
I learned that the world is interconnected, that there are multiple different actors, and all of them matter in shaping reality.
So, my experience definitely gave me a different perspective, which is guiding me through my current research endeavours.
What does being part of the STG alumni community mean to you, both personally and professionally?
Professionally, I would say that being part of the alumni community feels like having someone who has your back. I think that being part of the alumni community professionally is very helpful because you always have the sensation and the feeling that someone can back you up. And this is very important, especially as a first-generation researcher and as a first-generation scholar because it provides you with all the help that you need to develop your career, your ideas, and your prospects.
There is a plethora of people from whom to get inspiration from.
And, on a personal level, for me it means everything.
The STG is the place where I made the best friendships and the place where I had the best human experience. So, knowing that this is my network, and my professional network as well, only makes me excited and very willing to see what comes next for us.