We would like to express the thanks of the entire SPP community to those alumni who have given up their time to volunteer with us in 2022-23. Your support has a great impact - whether it be through sharing your expertise in our mentoring programme or telling your story in an alumni profile, we really value all you do for our community.
Members of our community share their testimonials below about their experiences with our alumni volunteers:
Mikayla Boginsky (current student) – “Being able to speak to an alum who has completed the MPA program and successfully started a career in a sector I am interested in has been invaluable. My mentor has provided me with tremendous insight into the hiring process and day-to-day aspects of their job that I would never have learned about through a job advertisement. These conversations have really helped shape my thinking about my long-term career goals. Because I was looking to enter an industry I didn’t have previous experience in, it was particularly helpful to glean insight from alumni who had completed my degree and are now working in ESG and social impact consulting. Going into interviews, I felt much more confident. Being able to reference these informational interviews demonstrated my ongoing curiosity and determination to get involved in the field.”
Ashmeet Singh (current student) - "I was wondering that what all does a consultant work entails in UK job markets….I thought of reaching to Hannah (SPP Alumni Officer) for connecting me with a few in same space. So kind of her, that she helped me to connect with Lisa Quest (2015, MPA), Partner and Public sector head at Olywer Wyman. Lisa further helped me to connect with a Principal there.I had a long conversation with him and took an understanding about the role and work they do. It was really amazing to know about the inside culture, on the job work and how can one get the foot in the door. I am really grateful for the experiences we had through the alumni network, more importantly I met a senior at Bank of England to know about the role and his MPA experience."
Sachiko Kureta (MPA, 2020) – "SPP Ask An Alum programme is an great opportunity to get a new perspective from a SPP cohort who has similar area of expertise. For students it is definitely a benefit to have someone who already completed the master's programme and is applyig knowledge to the real world. We should take advantage of the world wide alumni network which has talented people with experience."
Meghna Yadav (current student) – "I would really like to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of my alumni mentor, Mr. Philip Grinsted (MPA, 2016). I connected to him through the Ask An Alum Scheme and he has been very very helpful. He has shown initiative and has helped with me out as much as he can, either through cross checking my CV or by connecting me to other people. He patiently answers all my queries about the MPA programme and other things like employment , work life balance in the public sector etc. He has been a great mentor. I am extremely grateful that I was paired with him in this scheme."
Roberto Ayala-Pampliega (current student) – "I have been paired with Russell Saltz (MPA, 2011), and I must express my utmost admiration for his contributions. Russell's unwavering guidance and mentorship during my final months at school have been truly transformative. His insightful career advice and steadfast support have played a pivotal role in shaping my professional journey. With great conviction, I enthusiastically nominate Russell Saltz for esteemed recognition as a distinguished member of our honorable Alumni Wall of Fame."
Erva Khan (current student) – "I think my experience was particularly good because I was matched with a professional with the specific background I had requested (i.e. over 5 years of professional experience, preferably in consulting). It is specific because I already have a few years of job experience in the public sector so I was interested in learning about another area. It was beneficial for me because I knew what I wanted to learn more about."
Samantha Piller (current student and Head of Professional Development at the SPP Womxn's Network) The SPP alumni were extremely helpful and engaged with various SPP WxN’s network events. They were able to provide thoughtful and insightful input about career opportunities, professional skills and how they found the learnings from the SPP helped them in their career. Without their engagement, we wouldn’t have been able to offer such impactful events.
Prebhjot Kaur (current student) - "I used the alumni career support service to understand certain organisations I was interested in working at and the types of positions available. I spoke to 2-3 alumni, and they were all very generous with their time. They answered my questions, reviewed my resume, and provided advice on job applications that I was completing for their organisation. It’s a valuable service that I would recommend to everyone! Thank you to the alumni for being involved and also to Hannah (SPP Alumni Engagement Officer) for managing the process seamlessly."
Jason Greenberg (current student) - "I had meetings with a variety of alumni from the Civil Service and industry backgrounds, who were all very kind and offered a lot of help with both the Civil Service interviews, how to prepare my CV for specific roles and also which roles I should be looking for. The Civil Service alums had a variety of frank appraisals of what it was like to work for the government: some were rosy, some were critical. This really helped inform what kind of department and role I wanted to go into, and even whether I wanted to pursue a career in the Civil Service at all. From the private sector, I had help from individuals from across different industries in the UK, who offered a lot of advice and support for applications. I highly recommend reaching out to the LSE alumni network for getting a feel of the jobs landscape, as my preconceptions of what was out there were quite different to reality."
Sebastian Gallego (MPA, 2017) - "Ask an Alum is an excellent initiative to strengthen the relationship between LSE students and alumni. This will help LSE professionals to address current market demands within both public or private sectors. LSE students can also bring the best of SPP to the market through innovation, best practices and LSE network. I'm glad to be part of this initiative and encourage my colleagues to support the future LSE generations."
Anonymous Alumnus - "As an alumni, the SPP mentoring is a good opportunity to keep in touch with the LSE community, finding connections on shared interests. Even as a mentor, I was able to learn."
Flore Schmerber - (current student) "I got paired with Signe Sorensen, who has experience working in international development and international institutions as well. This perfectly matched my interests, as I was interested in pursuing a career in international development. Signe is now a professional coach, which made our encounters even more meaningful.
The first time we called was in December, right after many take-home assessments were due. We talked about our experiences and interests, and I immediately felt supported by her. Since she is an LSE alumn, she could understand what I was going through in a way nobody else could in my environment, and she was also very supportive of me in my self-discovery journey. I found her way of asking questions to make me reflect on things very helpful, as it helped me consider new opportunities. As I am trying to figure out what I would like to do and where I would like to work, getting to talk to her was especially helpful.
We called a second time in February or March, and I told her about a set of interests which were quite different from what I had told her about in our first call. I was still putting a lot of pressure on myself and wanted to do even more things, and she helped me collect myself. She asked me how I was feeling, what was realistic for me to pursue without burning myself out, what plan I could make to follow through on my ideas (how to implement my ideas and go from words to actions). She helped me remember to take a moment to appreciate what I have achieved.
We called a third time in April...Signe helped me by sending me links and articles and telling me about different organizations and institutions, but more importantly, our interactions were profoundly humane and helped me navigate my year at LSE. Signe really helped me grow this year. We now have added each other on LinkedIn, and we are still corresponding over email."
Olwen Wilson – (current student): “My conversations with LSE Alumni helped me understand different opportunities in the industry, to the point where I changed my mind about what my ideal next role and organisation would be. The alumni I spoke to, particularly Kate Antrobus (2012, MPA), were generous with their time, their contacts, and their advice. I really recommend using this resource, whatever stage you are in the job search process, and keeping an open mind to the potential organisations and roles which you may come across.”
Find out about our 2021-22 volunteers here.
Are you interested in volunteering with the School of Public Policy? Just get in touch at spp.alumni@lse.ac.uk if you are interested in finding out more about supporting our community.