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What does it take to choose a road less traveled? To defy expectations and do what’s right for you, not what’s popular or common? 

Students like Alexia Collot d’Escury Ariza offer us a peek into the world of the “rule breakers” and go-getters, reflecting on how she began a degree in law, only to pursue a future in public policy. After just one chat, her personable nature, sharp wit and unique vision immediately shine through. Maybe these are qualities she’s always had, but they truly bloomed through her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) at IE University.

She has made a truly impressive academic career, accumulating a string of the highest awards and commendations available at IE University and beyond. However, one of her most impressive feats was going from a law school graduate to a public policy career at Amazon Web Services, one of the “Big Five” companies in the world. 

So, what’s her secret? 

“I always knew I wanted to study law, as cliché as it may sound,” Alexia says. While she cannot remember exactly when she made that decision, this simple fact has defined her life. Justice and order have always shaped her worldview.  

The question was where to pursue her legal education. Born and raised in Monaco before moving to Marbella, she certainly had plenty of options after leaving high school with a Ray Liggan Scholarship for Academic Excellence and an International Baccalaureate grade achieved by just the top 1.1% of students worldwide.  

“I had a handful of excellent offers on the table,” she explains. But she wanted an experience that would expand her horizons, not confine her to national borders. This is exactly what made IE University’s Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) stand out. Its comparative law methodology was a decisive point in her decision; students explore the differences and similarities among various legal systems, gaining exposure to how the law works in multiple jurisdictions. It’s an effective way to gain a broad, global perspective, which more and more multinational employers are looking for today. 

Studying at IE University took me beyond Spain, and even beyond Europe, as I was versed in Continental European civil and common law. I was able to keep my opportunities to move around the world as a global legal graduate open.

How can you pivot to public policy? 

Despite that early certainty, Alexia has technically never practiced as a lawyer. During her Bachelor’s degree, she completed two internships in legal cybersecurity. These experiences sparked something new in her. In fact, it is this unexpected passion which later inspired her Bachelor Thesis. Commended for her work, it was published in the ELSA IE Law Review. “I grew passionate about the interrelated fields encompassing new technologies, security and defense, trade, supply chains, international relations and industrial policy,” she tells us. What she didn’t know at the time was that this interest would eventually lead her toward public policy at Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

Over the years, some would ask Alexia why she had studied an intensive legal degree if it wasn’t to become a lawyer. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of opportunities. “So far, I’ve actually declined to become a lawyer twice: after graduation, I decided not to study for the bar in Madrid, and after my Master of European Law, I chose not to join a law firm in Brussels,” she says. 

Instead, she began building a career in lobbying. It wasn’t the traditional trajectory, as most law grads opt to become lawyers or legal consultants. But Alexia doesn’t see the way her journey has unfolded as a demonstration of a lack of passion for law. She views it as an expansion of her legal education, one that builds on the foundation she’s already laid through her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. As she says, “In public policy, law is everywhere; we just live it in different ways.”  

Law is everywhere; we just live it in different ways.

While Alexia built her bridge from law to lobbying through individual internships and an openness to new opportunities, her trajectory highlights a growing global demand. It is exactly this intersection of tech, regulation and international strategy that inspired the creation of programs like the Master in Public Policy at IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs, giving the next generation of changemakers a direct, specialized route into the heart of global tech policy without requiring a traditional legal detour.

According to Alexia, the IE Experience gave her the lawyering skills, global insight and confidence to remain flexible and pivot into the areas where she thought she could make a true impact.  

What does a day at Amazon Web Services actually look like? 

“Many of us have heard about the profession of ‘lobbyist’, but it’s still very mysticized.” Alexia herself didn’t fully understand what the job entailed when she sent her application to Amazon Web Services. “I was applying to the unknown,” she admits. But over the past year, she’s cut her teeth within the AWS Brussels public policy department, and she’s already achieved more than she thought possible. 

As you would expect, working for a FAANG company is a pretty demanding experience. Alexia describes that working in public affairs has unique characteristics. “First, working in public policy requires the ability to adapt to unknowns and fast-paced environments.” Alexia goes on to explain how she is constantly stirred by politics at all levels of government, laws and policies in different countries and regions, geopolitical events and other unforeseen changes of circumstances.  

Secondly, Alexia shares that public policy is an intrinsically human discipline, where public policy professionals regularly meet a broad range of actors from the political and regulatory scene, the business world and many other kinds of interest representations. “For lobbyists, every day is different,” Alexia explains. And if you doubt whether you would fit into this environment, she reassures that “public affairs teams recruit brilliant minds from all areas of expertise: lawyers, economics, engineers, historians, political scientists, diplomats, chemists, software developers, and I could go on.” 

Because the field is so interdisciplinary, programs that prepare you for a future in public policy are designed to act as a great equalizer, bringing these diverse backgrounds together into a single room to master the art of data-driven diplomacy.

In the face of the multifaceted world of lobbying, well-honed people skills are vital, which Alexia says she uses regularly. “You need a high degree of sociopolitical and cultural sensitivity, diplomatic skills and situational awareness to guide conversation towards constructive dialogue.” Continuous learning is also a big part of the role, as “information becomes as outdated as the last minute’s news,” she says.  

Building a public policy toolkit

“It’s like training to become a Swiss knife,” she says. Her extensive, varied toolkit is essential to the role, which the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) imparts through a rigorous, practical learning experience. Essays, presentations, oral participation, readings and cases helped cement her theoretical foundations, but applied projects took her abilities to the next level. 

“I participated in numerous shadowing programs, mentoring programs and team-based competitions throughout the years,” she explains. In the process, she earned numerous awards, from “Best Questions & Answers” written in Latin during her first-year Roman Law Challenge, to a “Best Oralist” distinction right before graduation in Strasbourg’s Helga Pedersen Moot Court finals.  

I was constantly challenged to get out of my comfort zone: essays, presentations, oral participation, projects, readings, cases; every week carried a different surprise.

Alexia began her journey at IE University in 2020 as the proud holder of the IE-Latham & Watkins Entrepreneurial Lawyering Scholarship and an IE Academic Achievement Scholarship, earning her immediately an invitation to become an IE Foundation Fellow. Fast forward to July 2024, she graduated as a member of the Honours Program, the Dean’s List, having achieved twenty-eight class honours (‘matriculas de honor’), and having won a spot on the NOVA 111 Student List (‘Top 10 Best Law Students in Spain’). It is thus after four years of hard work that Alexia, with a cumulative average of 9.77/10, is awarded the title of “Best LL.B. student” award for having achieved the highest grade point average of her promotion. 

She credits her successes to her mindset, which she developed early on. “A way of thinking cannot be studied,” she says. “It needs to be lived to be acquired.” IE University helped her develop it by consistently pushing her out of her comfort zone through these immersive extracurriculars. She also broadened her humanistic, technological and entrepreneurial horizons via IE IMPACT courses and electives such as “Persuasive Public Speaking” and “The Disruptive Leader”. “I still speak about how transformational these courses were for me,” Alexia says. She now uses the skills she learned back then in her day-to-day work. 

What advice would you give to future public policy experts? 

Her many accolades caught the attention of leading employers and decision-makers, but Alexia says you don’t need a catalog of awards to succeed in law or public policy. “IE University won’t show you who to be, but how to figure out who you are,” she explains. “When you graduate, you’ll take with you a toolbox of means and methods, but how full it is depends on you.” 

She also mentions just how important it is to have a mentor. Put yourself in situations where you can meet people who inspire you, such as through mentorship programs, and don’t be afraid to ask questions, seek advice and learn from more knowledgeable and experienced professionals, she urges. 

Lastly? “Be bold and be brave. Text that person you were too shy to contact on LinkedIn. Ask your professor how they did it. Sign up for that Master in Public Policy you were eyeing. Above all, break free from predefined plans and ‘safe’ routes. As you can see, I didn’t ’throw away a legal career’; I made a very exciting one.”