Every spring and fall semester, KDI School of Public Policy and Management welcomes new students with diverse backgrounds from different parts of the world. Likewise, in Spring 2022, the School welcomed hundreds of new students from different countries.  Among these newcomers is Anete, a friendly-looking, confident, responsible and determined woman. Anete is the first student from Latvia, one of the three Baltic countries located in Northern Europe, and arrived in KDI almost 2 months ago to pursue her Master of Development Policy at KDIS. When we requested an interview, she replied with a smiley face, “Yes, of-course.”

1.  Kindly introduce yourself for our audience (brief introduction, work experience, any interesting fact about yourself)?

My name is Anete, and I come from Riga, the beautiful capital city of Latvia.

Actually I’m a small town girl, but I have been living in Riga for more than 10 years now.

I work as a Project Manager at Riga Technical University, which is also the place where I got my Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Translation back in 2015. Two years later I enrolled at the Latvian Academy of Culture to acquire a Master’s Degree in Cultural and Intercultural Studies. I successfully graduated in 2019 and I have to thank my master’s thesis supervisor Iveta ？eš？ne for introducing me to development studies. If it was not for my past educational experiences, I wouldn’t be in Korea right now, so I am very grateful.

My daily duties at Riga Technical University include writing and coordinating different European Union grant projects - capacity building initiatives, strategic partnership projects and others. This job has given me a lot of experience and also the opportunity to travel around the world. When I first started working at the University, I was a coordinator for foreign students coming from all across the world, including South Korea. Having helped so many students get the study-abroad experience, I am happy to be on the other side and have this opportunity myself now.

2. Could you please tell us more about Latvia?

My pleasure. Latvia is one of the three Baltic countries located in Northern Europe. It’s very green, has one of the fastest internet speeds in the world and can get pretty cold in winter (but isn’t cold all year around, contrary to popular belief). We are lucky to be able to enjoy all four seasons.

Even though we are relatively small in terms of population and territory, we are large when it comes to culture. Latvia really has a lot to offer for people who enjoy music, literature, architecture and fine arts in general. Some big names in the music and art world come from Latvia - ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, composer P？teris Vasks, Grammy-winning conductor Andris Nelsons, and modernist painter Mark Rothko to name a few. Our culture is a representation of our past in the present and it keeps us close to our roots and our heritage. I am very proud to be Latvian and speak the Latvian language.

3. Please tell us what motivated you to apply for a master’s degree at KDIS? How was your application process experience?

I am always very careful about making any education-related decisions. I took a two-year break after my bachelor’s to find a master’s program I am genuinely interested it, and it was two years after my master’s studies when I started looking for something new. I was considering going for a PhD, but when I found out about KDIS, I started leaning towards a second master’s degree. I recognized significant gaps in my knowledge when it comes to development studies and realized that KDIS is the perfect place where I can fill these gaps, in particular the MDP program.

The application process was a bit stressful as all the documents had to be translated and delivered on time, but I was pleasantly surprised with the detailed information that was provided to us. Having worked as a coordinator of foreign students before, I really appreciated the effort by KDI staff to make the application procedure as clear as possible. Whenever a question came to my mind I opened my e-mail to contact KDI staff only to realize that a new e-mail is already in my inbox, containing the exact answer to my question ？ it was like they knew what was on my mind.

4. Being the first student at KDIS from Latvia, can you share your experience and thoughts about KDIS?

I always put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well, and when I found out that I am the first KDI student from Latvia, the pressure intensified even more. I hope I won’t be the last Latvian student at KDI, and I hope I can represent my country well. I really have a high sense of responsibility, and I want to justify the chance that has been given to me and prove to myself as well as others that I am here for a reason. I promise to work hard.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

With all the things happening in the world right now, it is suddenly hard for me to think that far ahead as the future seems so uncertain. Wherever I am in 5 years, I hope I am doing something meaningful, something that can make my country and the world at least a little bit better. And I hope I’m happy.

6. Any last but not least advice to prospective students?

Do not doubt yourself. You are capable of more than you realize. In other words - You gotta risk it to get the biscuit. Go for it!