Luca Mariotti

Luca Mariotti
MPS, Global Development
Tell us a fun fact about you.

I had a lion’s mouth around my leg when I was working in Modisa, a wildlife reserve in Botswana.

What are the big challenges you want to tackle in the world?

I want the impact that I have on the world to reflect the impact that I have on the people around me every day. When I consider global development, I first consider local development. My desire is that my impact on the world is grounded in a philosophy that treats all people with respect, honesty and integrity. Living by these principles will, I hope, inspire others to live similarly and make an impact in their own positive way.

What were you doing before the MPS program?

I graduated from Trinity College, Dublin with a Business and Economics degree in 2013. During my time in Trinity I joined the Food and Drink Society and was the President in my final year. Armed with my undergraduate degree and this management experience, I then interned in a sustainable, fast growth start-up tea company, Chai Point, in Bangalore, India. I witnessed the sustainable approach of a tea company’s supply-chain that helped educate and build its local communities. During my time in Chai Point I decided I wanted additional grass-roots experience with social enterprises, food security and sustainable agribusinesses so I applied to the Peace Corps. In Senegal I worked with community leaders to develop agricultural based income generating activities using their natural resources such as peanuts, cashews and mangoes as well as developing a waste management project.

What does global development mean to you?

My experiences to date have proven to me that people are resourceful, resilient, hard-working and hungry to learn how best to put their natural resources to use. To me, global development is reducing poverty through innovative ways by helping individuals generate a source of income through small, medium enterprises and innovative income-generating activities.

What has been the most memorable or impactful experience of your career so far?

My most memorable professional experience is as a Community Economic Development Volunteer with the Peace Corps in Senegal. I was struck by my community’s welcome which facilitated my cultural and professional integration. I will always remember the joy of working with the highly motivated women’s group of the remote village of Keur Sett where I facilitated the distribution of their roasted peanuts to a potential international buyer in Dakar.

How do you envision your MPS degree contributing to your career?

I am particularly interested in economic development and poverty reduction facilitated by agricultural projects in Sub Saharan Africa. My desire is for my MPS degree to build on my previous experiences and through classes such as Prabhu Pingali's Food Policy for Developing Countries and Dr Ndunge Kiiti's emerging markets program, I want to build expertise in formulating strategic initiatives that can lead to poverty reduction and local community economic development.