Adrián Pavía, MPIA '13, Featured on Spirit Magazine
Spirit of Education
02/09/2012
Spirit Magazine,
Southwest Airlines
Three years ago, Adrián Pavía had it all. Just 27 years old, he was thriving (in an ugly job market, no less) with a rewarding position as a business analyst for the Los Angeles Unified School District. "Being in L.A. helped me see that, serving in a public capacity, I could have a direct impact on a community," he says. But rather than simply enjoy, for a while, the fruits of his hard-earned efforts, Pavía instead gave up that very good life to create an even better one via a masters degree at the University of California San Diego's (UCSD) School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.
No doubt some might question the wisdom of such a life-changing move, but not Pavía. "I had a safe, permanent job in the middle of a tough economic climate that I quit, so it was a big jump," he says. "But a graduate degree had always been in my master plan to advance my career, and I was ready to take the next step. I definitely feel prepared by this program. Even after just one term I've grown a lot."
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Adrián Pavía's previous work as a business analyst for the Los Angeles Unified School District shaped his commitment to utilizing a more scientific approach to international development projects and policy initiatives. Shortly after he began work at the district, massive budget cuts and layoffs required that projects operate by maximizing efficiencies so that more funding could be directed to schools. With an emphasis on technological solutions and new media, Adrián wants to model this approach as it relates to international development intiatives.
