Nuria Rodriguez

Nuria is an Associate at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

I was 15 when I first heard of the London School of Economics (LSE). I was a children's rights activist in the Ombudsman's Office of Peru, and the Ombudsman was an LSE alumna whom I admired. I dreamed that perhaps one day I would be able to have the same level of impact across Peru and around the world as she has had. However, part of me thought that it would be impossible to even access these opportunities due to my low-income background. I am a proud daughter of a working-class family, and a first-generation student who studied Economics at the National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas.

I learnt English very late in my life, and even when I was first admitted to LSE in 2019, I had to decline the offer because I could not fulfil the English requirement. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic hit. My parents lost their jobs and I was forced to support my family financially, so my dream to join LSE was once again postponed. However, my aspiration to study the Master of Public Policy (MPP) motivated me to improve my English. I began studying with private tutors and spent several months practicing for the English exam. In 2021, I passed the exam and was accepted to the MPP, and thankfully, I was granted a full scholarship from the Peruvian Government over more than six thousand applicants.

Since day one at the MPP, I slotted right into a diverse cohort of students from twenty-six nationalities with a range of life experiences. We were guided by a world-renowned faculty who drove us to dive into the cutting-edge theoretical and technical tools, and hone our skills, to address the world’s most pressing public policy challenges. I was constantly motivated to leave my comfort zone during my time at LSE and pushed to embrace uncertainty and be flexible. I was also fascinated by the opportunity to meet and converse with faculty members on a range of interesting topics. For me, the most challenging and valuable part of the MPP was the Public Policy Applications course where I worked with the World Bank on a project focused on global health, a sector that I am passionate about.

Having over seven years of experience working in international development, and over three years in government advisory in the Delivery Unit of Peru where I advised the Prime Minister on the implications of Covid-19 on public health, my goal was to join the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI). Today, I work in London as an Associate in the Health Policy Team at TBI: where we work alongside governments across Africa to navigate the increasing array of public health challenges through dedicated strategy, policy and delivery support. To me, working at TBI represents the result of resilience, struggle, and hard work, but it also makes me feel proud of the positive impact that we are increasingly making across the globe.

At the same time, I understand how important it is to encourage people to achieve their dreams despite their financial constraints. This is why I founded "Inspira Peru", an organisation that aims to inspire students from Peruvian rural areas to pursue higher education at universities around the world by supporting them in strengthening their English language and personal and professional skills.

 I am very grateful to the MPP for giving me the platform and network needed to boost my professional career which has helped me to achieve my goals and continue to positively impact people's lives.

Nuria is happy to connect via LinkedIn.