"Everyone you meet at the university is a potential door opener"

Erica was born in Sweden but grew up all over the world. Her Swedish father and American mother worked in development and she grew up in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Vietnam, among other places.

– My parents gave me an exciting upbringing and I experienced many different cultures. But I barely lived in my home countries during my childhood and adolescence and did not feel much connection to either Sweden or the United States.

Erica therefore decided to move to the United States for her bachelor's degree. After graduating with a degree in political science, she took an internship at a think tank on Middle East policy in Washington D.C, and then got a job as a grant writer at a non-profit working for college access for low-income youth. After almost a decade in the US, she felt she wanted to move to Sweden and establish contact with her second home country.

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Back to school

– I was interested in sustainability issues and wanted to study further for a master's degree in the natural sciences. So I applied for and got into the master's programme in Globalization, Environment and Social Change which led to an M.Sc. in Geography.

The master's programme is a collaboration between the Department of Human Geography, the Department of Natural Geography and the Department of Economic History and International Relations. One purpose of the programme is for students to learn to communicate and bridge the gaps between decision-makers, academics and other stakeholders on environmental issues.

– I especially liked the courses in natural geography. They were often more practically oriented. We used real cases to illustrate theory and we went on field studies. I appreciated the course Global Climate and Environmental Change with Professor Stefan Wastegård for instance. I had many excellent teachers who were also researchers and who gave a balanced approach. They looked at challenges, e.g. climate change, with curiosity instead of anxiety. I gained great respect for researchers who hold that tone.

Erica conducted the research for her master’s thesis with a Minor Field Studies Scholarship (MFS). She went to Bangladesh's capital Dhaka to map out the informal waste management system in a particular district. Erica can warmly recommend applying for an MFS scholarship for the degree project.

– An MFS will be an adventure in a completely different way than if you were to do the research for your thesis at home. You force yourself to get out of your "comfort zone" which makes you perform in a different way. I was out in the field with an interpreter almost every day, made good contacts with several waste management companies, authorities and with professors at a university in Dhaka. You become more curious and the time constraint also helps you really focus and deliver.

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A chance encounter led to employment

The plan was to stay in Sweden after graduation and get a job. At the time Erica thought she would like to continue with the type of work she had already done. Perhaps as a grant reviewer or with donor relations but for an organization focused on nature conservation or environmental issues.

During her studies, she happened to meet a woman who worked with fundraising at the Department of Natural Geography and Erica started working for her voluntarily.

– After graduation, she was able to offer me a position supporting the fundraising efforts for an environmental research project on the Baltic Sea. The project, then called Baltic Eye, later became the Baltic Sea Centre thanks to a generous donation from financier and philanthropist Björn Carlson. My assignment soon grew to encompass more projects and over the years I applied for various positions in different parts of the university. However, the focus was always on increasing collaboration with external stakeholders.

After the years in research collaboration, Erica wanted to gain more insight into the activities on the educational side. So she applied for the job of alumni coordinator.

– Alumni are a powerful and underutilized resource. As an alumni coordinator, I have worked to create conditions for involving alumni in the university's activities in various ways. The goal has always been that what we do in alumni relations should be interesting for the alumni, benefit the students and enrich the university as a whole. A big question at Stockholm University has been how we can harness the knowledge and good will of our alumni to support our students on their future career paths.

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The jobs are not only in the big city

During the pandemic Erica moved with her family to the countryside in western Sweden. The idea was that they would live there for a shorter period while they worked remotely. But it turned out to not be as temporary as they had thought.

– We got to experience a completely different way of living, which would have been difficult to do under other circumstances. It opened our eyes to the fact that the big city no longer was for us – we really discovered a new way of life that suited us. So we have decided to now make the move permanent.

Now the family has sold their apartment in Stockholm and Erica and her husband both have new jobs. Country living has both delivered and surprised.

– You might think that to have many jobs opportunities you have to be in the big city. But we both have full-time jobs, we’ve made new friends and have an increased quality of life with the forest right outside our door and all around us. We also didn’t expect there would be so many different nationalities here. But the village outside Arvika where we live feels more cosmopolitan than our suburb in Stockholm!

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Business development for the greater good

Erica will soon start her new job as a business developer in Arvika municipality.

– The job is to support and facilitate for companies in Arvika and to work to create beneficial conditions so that more people with good ideas can start-up. We also want to attract companies from other parts of the country or the world to do business in Arvika. I will work with several target groups, identifying common needs and developing and investing in efforts and services that benefit everyone. I see many similarities to my position as alumni coordinator.

During her education, Erica worked a lot with mapping, synthesizing and communicating complex phenomena into comprehensible and actionable arguments. Something that has been of use to her in her working life.

– In order to serve the needs of the business community, you need to understand where they are coming from first. The prep-work is important. To identify and familiarize yourself with the conditions and needs that exist and then make plans for new initiatives and projects that actually address those needs in an effective and impactful way. And it’s of course very important to do everything in close dialogue with representatives from the community. I think it will also be that close collaboration that energizes and makes the work fun!

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A journey you cannot predetermine

She would like to encourage current students to look at the university staff during their studies as potential door openers.

– Keep in mind that everyone you meet in the halls of the university is a potential door opener, even a potential employer. Be your best self, be positive, curious, interested and helpful. Then people will notice your potential and opportunities can present themselves.

Erica doesn’t think that you can completely control your career trajectory. Instead it is something to actively follow and tweak along the way.

– My career so far has been an exciting lesson and journey in itself, even though I may not have worked in exactly the issues I was set on during my education. The most important thing for me has been to feel challenged and learn new things. Having a good and ongoing contact with the target groups you support is also important and that which makes work energizing and enjoyable.

As her last day working with alumni relations nears, Erica wants to take the opportunity to say goodbye.

– I will miss the eventful years at the university and all the fantastic alumni, students, teachers, colleagues and SU friends that I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know. I look forward to continuing to be involved as an alumna!