Alexandra Foucaud

My story with the LSE began more than 5 500 kilometres away as I was studying as an exchange student at Columbia University in 2015 and decided I wanted to pursue my studies in a bilingual environment and deepen my knowledge of the EU. 

You can imagine my surprise, followed by existential issues when I learned in June 2016 that the UK had finally decided to exit the Union. 

As I arrived at the LSE, I was quickly reassured of the commitment of the school to the study of this very unique Union as well as getting the chance to discover a new perspective on it, after having already spent a year focusing on European matters at Sciences Po Paris. My time as the EI was filled with thought-provoking debates, whether in class or strolling around Lincoln's Inn Fields. I formed long-lasting friendships with people from all over Europe (and the States) – especially the Franco-Italian connection widely represented at the EI.

A couple years after graduating, I joined the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, specializing in government affairs. I got the chance to work as a member of the Ceremonies’ team, and it truly was the adventure of a lifetime as I navigated the French institutions to make sure that the organisation of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was well coordinated with all our public and parapublic partners.

Even though I did not have a class at the LSE entitled « How to organise the biggest event in sports history », I am confident that my time at the European Institute shaped the negotiation and synthesis skills that proved key to my work. It also sharpened my ability to quickly grasp the basic regulations, customs and challenges of any subject enabling me to argue on river regulations while at the same time negotiating cooperation contracts with the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower.