M.S. in Global Affairs
Alumna, Class of 2007
Marilia Bezerra already held a Brazilian law degree when she decided to advance her career by enrolling in the M.S. in Global Affairs. "I was interested in complementing my international law background," she notes, "and the master’s degree program at the Center for Global Affairs (CGA) at NYU-SCPS was the perfect place to pursue that goal."
Bezerra, who now works in an executive-level position at Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), a nonprofit organization founded by former President Bill Clinton, believes the master's program played a pivotal role in preparing her for a new career. The program "is grounded in practical, hands-on knowledge," she explains, "which allowed me to build upon the foundation of theoretical knowledge I already had acquired." As a result, she credits her education at NYU-SCPS with giving her the edge she needed to succeed in the field of development aid.
"The fact that the courses were all tied to current events brought a sense of urgency and timeliness to the theory I was learning," says Bezerra, adding that the manner in which academic ideas were linked to the headlines made concepts easy to apply and to understand. This would prove particularly beneficial in her current role as head of the Commitment Department, where she often draws on this classroom experience to help CGI with the four main "challenge areas" on which it focuses: economic empowerment, education, global health, and environment and energy. According to Bezerra, after her time at the Center for Global Affairs, she is fully equipped with the practical skills and the know-how to make a difference in these areas of concentration.