Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws - Policy Advisor Climate Change, Ministry for the Environment.
It only took one politics paper to hook Otago graduate Emily Mathias.
“I had always been interested in politics and current affairs, which was what led me to study politics as a minor. The first paper I took was international relations with Robert Patman. It was such a great paper I got hooked and ended up reshaping my entire degree around it.”
In 2019, Emily completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Politics and a Bachelor of Laws. She is now employed by the Ministry for the Environment as a policy advisor in the Climate Change department. It's a role that involves helping develop the New Zealand Government's direction on international climate policy.
“Studying politics offered a lot of flexibility, which was what I loved the most. I enjoyed international relations and political theory and was able to focus on those without having compulsory papers in anything I didn't enjoy.”
“My ability to specialise in these areas contributed to gaining my current job. It was also crucial that I had worked as a research assistant in the Politics department and that I was involved in extracurricular activities such as the Politics Students' Association. I also went on an exchange to study at Essex University in the UK in my final year, which was an awesome opportunity to gain an international perspective on current political issues.”
Emily's focus now is to continue working within the Ministry to develop policy that will make New Zealand a world leader in climate change action.
“This area of work has so many opportunities and I'm very excited to be part of it at such a young age. I also plan on completing my legal profs so I can move into the legal division in the future.”