MSc in Human Rights, 2010
Social Policy Analyst, Social Development Ministry
Before starting my studies at LSE I undertook two legal internships and got a voluntary job as a lawyer in the field of family law and domestic violence. At the same time, I started an MPhil in International Relations at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. During this time, I also volunteered as a conciliatory judge, mediating low complexity civil law conflicts.
After graduating from LSE, I got a job as a lecturer in International Relations at a local University in the South of Brazil, where I worked for almost two years, before assuming my current position in the Social Development Ministry in Brasília. One important point to note, however, is that everybody I know had at least one job application rejected, and it was the same for me. The only piece of advice I can give is to keep up the job search and keep applying!
I work in the Sheltering Department of the Social Service National Secretary. Generally speaking, this department coordinates the execution of social policies for all sheltering services in Brazil, aiming to protect disabled people, the homeless, elderly people, children and adolescents, victims of domestic violence and victims of disasters. I am more specifically designated to deal with the last two. Aside from this, I also represent the Social Development Ministry in the National Plan against Human Trafficking. My analytical and writing skills, as well as the ability to work in group and support a point of view, have been constantly demanded.
This job represents an opportunity to analyse and implement social policies in my country. Living in Brasília, where all political decisions in Brazil are taken, has also been a rich experience! Our tasks are directly related to adopting a human rights approach to development, fighting poverty and empowering vulnerable people. Such subjects are among my research topics while studying at LSE, in a way that I feel myself prepared for my professional activities, and at the same time, challenged by them.
My time at LSE was a fantastic experience, not only for the classes I attended, but also for the friends I made and, of course, the opportunity to live in London.