When Elizabeth Quishpi (MSc International Business, 2022) received the United Nations Migrant Impact Award this winter, her first thought was of her parents.
“My parents left everything behind in Ecuador so that I could have better opportunities,” she said after the ceremony. “Today, they know that the sacrifices they made more than 20 years ago were worth it.”
The award - given for "her exceptional commitment to demonstrating that migration is an opportunity to bring people and strengthen communities, promoting innovation, cohesion, and shared progress" recognised Elizabeth’s work as co-founder of Empower LATAM UK - a charity aimed at supporting the Latin American community across the UK, which she set up during her time at Nottingham, with help from the Ingenuity Lab.
All four co-founders of the charity met on the Hispanic Society committee, where they broadened its focus to include career events, cultural initiatives and a campaign to have Latin Americans recognised as a distinct category in university data.
As graduation approached, they didn’t want to lose what they’d built - and they’d experienced first-hand how difficult it could be for international graduates to break into the UK job market. “We knew there was a gap,” she says, “and we knew we could fill it.”
Empower LATAM UK’s flagship mentoring programme pairs young Latin Americans with professionals from similar backgrounds who can help with CVs, interviews, networking and the unwritten rules of corporate life. “We try to give more visibility to people who share our background and are developing careers in the UK,” she says.
In its first year, the programme supported around 45 mentees. By its third, applications had risen past 300. “It’s grown really rapidly,” she says. “I think that shows how much the need was really there.”
The charity has gone from strength to strength in the past three years, securing partnerships with corporate giants such as Google, Meta, LinkedIn and Barclays. “Working with them shows we are a serious organisation,” she says, “and that they trust the impact we’re having.”
The validation of corporate sponsorship, alongside Elizabeth’s UN award, carries particular weight given the current political climate. With polarisation around immigration growing, recognition like this is more important than ever.
“I always try to share a positive message around immigration,” she says. “We are not trying to come to your country to damage your country or hurt your people. What we are trying to do is look for a better life, have better opportunities and contribute as much as possible to the development of the country - and I am confident that is one of the things Empower LATAM UK is doing. We are helping people in the UK to have better careers that are going to positively impact the entire development of the region.”