Class of 2024: Mia Marzotto

Essex has been the perfect place to prepare Mia Marzotto for the vital work she is now doing with whistleblower support organisation, The Signals Network.

Mia leads the network’s protection programme which provides a range of support for whistleblowers, from legal and communications advice to financial and security support.

It’s thanks to the efforts of Mia and her colleagues that whistleblowers have somewhere to turn when exposing wrongdoing in the world and have constant support throughout the whole process.

While working in her current role, Mia has been able to draw on her experience working with the Arbitrary Detention Redress Unit (ADRU) at the University of Essex.

The unit sits within Essex’s Human Rights Centre Clinic and gives students the opportunity to work with leading academics researching highly sensitive and novel issues on detention-related human rights violations.

Mia volunteered with the ADRU while studying an LLM in International Human Rights Law.

She had been working as a human rights professional before coming to Essex, focusing on humanitarian policy and advocacy in areas affected by conflict and environmental disaster.

“I felt the need to deepen my understanding of international human rights law in a way that would allow me to fulfil my ambition to be a well-rounded and impactful advocate for everyone’s human rights,” said Mia.

“I was keen to further my academic preparation in a way that balanced theory and practice and Essex Law School looked like the perfect place where to do so thanks to its extraordinary faculty and many practical study/ work opportunities like the Human Rights Centre Clinic.

“It was also a great learning opportunity to be able to work alongside fellow students/ researchers with different backgrounds that contributed to great synergies and interesting discussions within the ADRU.”

As an international student, Mia admits her time at Essex was a steep learning curve.

But she reflects fondly on her time here thanks to the many friends she made, as well as the academic challenges put before her which will hold her in good stead in her career.

She added: “Essex is definitely a great university where I was able to find an amazing community of faculty members and fellow students who challenged my thinking on many topics and allowed me to grow, both personally and professionally.”