Interviewed by Anisia, Upper Sixth, alumna Amalia Navarro described her far from straight line journey from Woldingham to Chief of Communications of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, based in Geneva, talking fully and frankly about the United Nations – past and present, as well as her hopes for its future.

Amalia’s day to day job involves making the complex microeconomic analysis of 500 highly specialised economists understandable – through media including press releases, podcasts and videos – so that decision makers across the world can use it effectively. Part of her motivation for working with the UN – and earlier in her career with the NGO Doctors Without Borders – is to do something that gives her a sense of purpose. Amalia had also discovered a real interest in the world and how decisions are made that affect us every day.

It was undoubtedly reassuring to many students in the audience to learn that when at Woldingham, Amalia didn’t know what she wanted to do. But being clear about what she didn’t want to do has been very useful in navigating her remarkable career. Amalia’s concluding message was that, wherever students find themselves in the future, getting involved and making positive changes gives you a great sense of purpose and makes a huge difference to how you live your life.