Lucrezia Sala
I’m 22 years old and from Bergamo, Italy, a city near Milan. I come from an entrepreneurial family; my dad founded his company at 17 and my two older brothers work with him. However, I’ve always wanted to do something independent. I’m lucky to have a very close Italian family where my parents have always encouraged me to think outside of the box.
“IE University is constantly encouraging me to go beyond my comfort zone; it has been an endless self-discovery experience that’s giving me so much from both personal and academic perspectives.”
Eyes on the future
Fluent in Italian, English and Spanish, Lucrezia describes herself as a pragmatic, curious and ambitious young woman who loves to surround herself with other objective people. A fast learner motivated to solve multinational challenges like energy security, counterterrorism and global security, once Lucrezia has a goal in mind, she never gives up.
Her fascination with global affairs comes from her father, she says. It was he who first taught her about Italian politics and the challenges her country faces. After doing a high school exchange in Sydney, Australia when she was 17, she returned ready to begin her academic journey.
Prior to joining IE University, Lucrezia earned her bachelor’s degree in international politics and government from Bocconi University in Milan. Graduating in July 2021, she wrote her thesis about the effects of increased renewable energy consumption in non-OPEC countries, contrasting it with the decrease in OPEC countries’ oil export revenues.
During her time in Milan, Lucrezia also worked at the Consulate General of Argentina for six months as a research analysis intern. By assisting with statistical analysis, she learned how the European Union handles security matters with non-member countries. During this time she was in regular correspondence with the Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires, drafting weekly reports throughout the pandemic.
Fast-forward and Lucrezia is pursuing her Master in International Relations at IE University. In the end, she craved radical change from the traditional learning methods she had experienced her first degree. She wanted an intensive, practical and career-oriented master’s program to prepare her for the job market.
In Lucrezia’s opinion, IE University was the best choice to explore new subjects due to its hands-on, practical approach. Coming from a more theoretical academic background, the group dynamics in the master’s program have pleasantly surprised her. With plenty of collaborative projects, she has appreciated learning directly from her peers, some of whom bring up to five years’ professional experience to the table.
The diverse international cohort and knowledgeable professors constantly remind Lucrezia of her goal: to work for an intergovernmental organization. Never turning down a challenge or learning experience, she says that IE University has been a great fit for her, since it requires focus, ambition, determination and eyes on the future.
“I have changed so much over the past 10 months thanks to my professors’ and colleagues’ advice; I believe that the Master in International Relations gave me the personal growth that I was looking for after my bachelor’s degree.”
So far, Lucrezia says that her experience at IE University has been like an “unrivaled roller coaster.” With this has come personal growth, networking and friendship. Akin to a marathon in her mind, the Master in International Relations has been the perfect springboard to jump-start her career in either crisis response or security policy.
Ultimately, Lucretia celebrates IE University for providing students with the right tools to develop a critical mindset. Due to the eclectic student body, Lucrezia contends that working with people from different backgrounds and political perspectives is crucial for the next generation of leaders. In the process, she has learned to understand opposing political and economic ideas, not to mention challenge and debate them fairly.
It’s perhaps no surprise that Lucrezia has also involved herself in the IE University community—she serves as the co-president of IE Global Transformation Club, where she organizes forums about geopolitical issues. At the moment she’s also doing her Capstone Project with the Inter-American Development Bank. Specifically, Lucrezia is creating policies to reintegrate elderly people into the Latin American and Caribbean job markets after retirement.
Once she graduates, Lucrezia plans to move to Paris for a five-month exchange program at Sciences Po University. IE University selected her for this merit-based opportunity, where she’ll learn more about security. Following this, she intends to stay in Paris to work, or move to Brussels, although she’s also open to other parts of Europe.
More motivated than ever, Lucrezia is currently learning French before the post-graduate program begins. Following a tip from an IE University professor with over 30 years of experience, she has also started to learn Russian, since it’s an in-demand language within the European security sector. Though she describes the language as complex, it’s an example of how Lucrezia challenges herself to achieve a goal when it will serve her well in the future.
Asked where she sees herself in the next five to ten years, Lucrezia envisions herself working in an international environment. She dreams of creating and implementing better policies for societies in the global and energy security fields. Given her young age, she’d like to work abroad to build her professional career before returning to live in Italy someday.
When it comes to advising prospective students, Lucrezia can attest that time flies at IE University. Keeping this in mind, she says it’s crucial to have crystal-clear objectives upon arrival. Additionally, she stresses the importance of not taking anything for granted, all while actively engaging and learning from your peers. She’s certainly the embodiment of her own advice!
