Coming from a low-income household in Belize, Irene Rodriguez grew up thinking university seemed like a luxury meant for others -- until she won scholarships offered by nonprofits. These changed her life and she made a pact to pay it forward when she could. After working for several years in HR management, she quit her job to carve a new career in public service.

Rodriguez did her research, extensively, and found UD’s MPA programme to be the best launchpad for her goals. At the Biden School, she would later become an Institute for Public Administration (IPA) fellow as well, tackling conflict resolution, programme evaluation, and policy development. “When I got here, I quickly realised that IPA and UD were a welcoming, heartwarming community, and I found great mentors and people who continue to push me forward and motivate me,” Rodriguez says.

That experience helped her lead her team to victory at the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration’s (NASPAA) 2026 global wildfire mitigation simulation — an annual contest that assigns each team member a clashing stakeholder role inside a live public sector crisis.