Why did you choose LSE, and why did you choose your programme of study?

Premiere institution, home of social policy.

Interest in pursuing a career in policy research and advocacy.

Overall, how do you look back on your LSE experience?

Enriching, life-defining, fun, challenging, enormously satisfying.

Please describe your career path to date:

I am with a non-profit organisation in The Hague in The Netherlands, which works on building resilience in communities in order to understand the systemic causes that lead to exclusion, alienation and possibly violent radicalisation and extremism.

Why did you choose your current job?

Because I am passionate about and believe in what the organisation stands for. Because it marries my interests of empirical and cutting-edge research, work at the community level, writing and communicating, and advocating and influencing policy. And because the content of the work and the variety of ways we go about delivering the content is endlessly contextual and fascinating.

Tell us about your current job:

As Communications and Advocacy Officer, I manage both the external and internal communications for the organisation, which includes strategising as well as helping operationalise the strategy. With my advocacy hat on, I help push through key advocacy agendas. My current project involves looking at how the operating space of civil society worldwide is being impacted by counter-terror legislation, and building a coalition to help change that. Given that I am part of a small organisation, my role involves a lot of multi-tasking - of a day, you could be writing a grant proposal, updating Twitter, attending a workshop with youth mentors/mentees in the community, helping structure a new website as part of an ongoing advocacy effort, taking a class on the Foreign Fighter phenomenon...

What advice do you have for LSE students who are looking to enter a similar profession to you?

Always useful to have on-the-ground experience in communities facing difficulties (either in conflict zones or otherwise). Good listening skills are paramount, along with a certain level of humility and generally taking up less space when working in communities on the ground!