With a clear post-graduate career goal of international development and education through non-profits, Maria Eduarda Olimpio Lopes searched for the best graduate schools in the US to give her experience and opportunities to enhance her abilities. Lopes found the Masters of Public Affairs program at Truman to be the perfect fit due to its flexibility of focus areas on both public policy and nonprofit management. “Today, as I’m preparing to graduate with a master’s degree in public Affairs and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management, I can confidently say that Mizzou has provided me with numerous opportunities to grow,” says Maria Lopes.
While at Truman, she landed an internship with the Brookings Institute in the Center for Universal Education branch of the organization. The mission of the Center for Universal Education is to ensure all children and youth, regardless of their circumstances, have access to high-quality education. Her role consisted of both research and project management in the field of global education policy. In her role, she worked specifically with the Knowing-Doing Network Leadership Coalition (KDNLC), an organization comprised of a worldwide network of 10 civil society organizations and the Center for Universal Education. The KDNLC works to transform the education systems both locally and globally to ensure children and youth are prepared to lead in an evolving world.
“Being part of a network composed of brilliant and diverse individuals has been a valuable learning opportunity,” says Lopes. Her internship has significantly contributed to her professional development within global education non-profits. Building on Lopes’s previous experience in policy research, the internship at the Brookings Institute allowed her to expand her skills in project management, grant management, network engagement, data collection, tracking key metrics, and fostering communication among a varied group of stakeholders.
She enjoyed each day of the internship as it brought forth new challenges and learning opportunities which reinforced her interest in project management. Throughout her role at the Brookings Institute, she deepened her passion for the dynamic nature of the roles which involve coordinating multiple aspects of complex projects.
Lopes’s role in working with the KDNLC gave her a deeper understanding of international collaboration and the complexities of developing a shared global policy agenda. The network’s goals, which are grant-funded, are advancing a global agenda focused on transforming education systems that advocate for young people to learn beyond foundational skills, like literacy and numeracy, emphasizing creativity, leadership, communication, and other crucial life skills.
A key takeaway for her was the importance of inclusive knowledge production. A global agenda of transforming education systems must include the information and expertise of those from the Global South not just the Global North when developing policy initiatives. Lopes adds, “Throughout my internship, I witnessed the Center for Universal Education actively reconsider its role in leading a global network, aiming to empower voices from the regions most impacted by these policies.” Her role allowed her the opportunity to see how global policy is developed through different policy institutions and those who will directly “receive” the policies.