We spoke to Antonia Corinthia Crisanta NAZ (MPP '95), Consultant
Resources, Environment and Economics Center for Studies, Inc, Philippines

What does your current job entail?
I do various consulting work in foreign-funded projects on decentralisation, environment and natural resources management, poverty and project evaluation in the Philippines, Cambodia and Afghanistan and other countries. These are in the areas of capability building, research, development and investment planning, environment and resource valuation, solid waste management, particpatory poverty assessment, organisational development, policy analysis and strategic planning.

How do you think the school’s programme helped you in your career?
The analytical skills and conceptual lenses that I gained from the MPP course sharpened the way I studied situations that beset people, organisations and societies in their cultural, political, social and economic contexts. Such an understanding also helped me come up with options and their attendant consequences that are useful to decision makers. The MPP broadened the range of people that I interacted with from the man on the street, students and even heads of states from different countries, thus enabling me to adjust more easily to people of various ranks, cultures, beliefs and mindsets.

Any words of advice for the current students of LKYSPP?
Learning might not seem easy at the moment, but you will treasure during your lifetime, the rewards of wisdom and knowledge gained both inside and outside the classroom. Learn from Singapore, as it serves as an excellent model for many good things - as I did in my policy analysis exercise on the Singapore Model of River Cleansing: Implications for the Philippines Pasig River Rehabilitation Program. Lastly, make friends - this is the key to bringing about greater harmony in our world.