News Politics Society Talk: Old Dolphin Natalia Hildebrand (Class of 2019) 28.09.2023

The Politics Society was delighted to welcome back to the school Old Dolphin Natalia Hildebrand (Class of 2019), who spoke on the topic ‘From LSE to Israel: Politics and the Middle East’.

Having studied History at LSE, Natalia has lived in Israel, learning Hebrew, and working on the Israel-Palestine conflict at an NGO. Having worked for the last few months in the corporate sector providing expertise on the Middle East at a hedge fund, she is about to start an MPhil in Middle Eastern Studies at St Anthony’s College, Oxford.

Natalia inspired the students discussing her varied experiences since leaving Godolphin and how these had shaped her views on the Middle East. She spoke passionately about her interest in the region and gave students some extremely valuable insights to the shifting dynamics in the Middle East over the last few years. For example, the rising influence of China as a peace-broker was explored as well as the crisis over Israel’s judiciary. Following the talk, students asked Natalia a wide range of questions ranging from her experiences as a student at LSE to her views on Trump’s impact on the Middle East peace process.

Lower Sixth Politics student Maya reflected: ‘I really enjoyed learning about Natalia’s array of experiences in many different fields relating to politics from researching in Israel to working in a hedge fund. I was intrigued by her predictions, formed by studies and investigation, about the cultural shift in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries as they aim to decrease their dependency on fossil fuels and move towards hospitality and entertainment.’

Thank you so much to Natalia for coming back to Godolphin and sharing her expertise so generously.