Victoria Suarez Rubio

Victoria is a Parliamentary Assistant at the Cabinet of MEP Luis Garicano at the European Parliament.

I applied to the SPP in 2019 looking for a change in my career path. I’m from a small city in Spain called Torrevieja: I had studied a dual degree in Law & Business Administration in Madrid, and had spent almost three years working in a start-up in the field of innovation consulting. My dream had always been to work in public policy, but I had no clue about how to get there.

When I learned of the Master in Public Administration at LSE, it was like a light went off in my mind.  I wanted to learn to design good public policies, to implement them effectively, and to navigate the politics involved. I also wanted to be in an international environment so I could learn from new perspectives and get exposure to new markets. The MPA just ticked all the boxes.

My time in LSE was as challenging as enriching. I had professors from different countries, with a mix between pure academics and practitioners: brilliant minds actively contributing to the intellectual debate about global issues such as how to break the poverty trap or how to respond to the worst global pandemic in our lifetime. Being at LSE during the COVID-19 outbreak and consequent waves felt like being actors and actresses of a perfect public-policy case study.  All that said, the best part of the SPP was my classmates: smart individuals from all around the world with diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise, each always ready to share with and learn from the rest. Without a doubt, fifty percent of what I learned during my time at the SPP I owe to them. And I keep with me good friends that I know will continue inspiring me for the rest of my life. 

From the SPP I jumped right to the European Parliament, where I work now as a Parliamentary Assistant for a Spanish MEP. It was thanks to one of my professors that I learned about this position, and who subsequently helped me with a reference letter. Every day I use the skills and knowledge I gained during my two years at the SPP. I didn’t leave the SPP knowing everything, but I did leave with the right tool kit to learn everything I need in the next step of my career.

I was lucky. Not all my classmates found their dream job right after our program, but they are all on the right track. I am happy to be part of this big family that, from our humble jobs scattered across all continents, contribute day after day to make a better world.

Victoria is happy to connect on LinkedIn.