Cristopher Ballinas Valdés (DPhil Politics, 2003)
Dr. Cristopher Ballinas Valdés (DPhil in Politics) is Professor and Associate Researcher in Public Policy at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, Mexico City. Since graduating, he has been committed to the development of disadvantaged people in his country, and working for the improvement of government institutions. Cris also represents Mexico in regional and international Kendo championships.
I still remember it clearly; I was one of many postgraduates arriving at Hertford and trying to find their way to the lodge while avoiding tourists and audacious bikers. I was in my late twenties then and had been working for the Mexican government as a mid-level bureaucrat for a couple of years.
I was delighted to be accepted at Hertford. It was renowned for its international, friendly and relaxed atmosphere, and for its long tradition in my discipline (Thomas Hobbes´ pathbreaking Leviathan was written there!). From the porters to the Principal, everyone was attentive and approachable.
Hertford provided me with an exceptional environment for living and for developing my academic, professional goals. I have now achieved more than I could have ever imagined – I’ve worked at the apex of the government pyramid as Senior Adviser to three deputy ministers in Mexico and possess extensive high-level experience in policy design and implementation. After graduating from Oxford, I was appointed as Deputy Director General for Planning and Social Development for the most vulnerable population at the Ministry for Welfare. After that I was appointed Associate Professor in Public Policy at Mexico City’s ITAM where I teach and research on executive government, autonomous agencies and public policy. It was here that I developed the largest investigation into autonomous agencies in Mexico, which has been published by Palgrave McMillan (2011) and translated into Spanish in 2017.
In addition to all this, I represent Mexico in Kendo. It goes without saying that being part of the Oxford Dark Blues provided me with a competitive foundation that enabled me to join Mexico´s first team and collect a decent amount of silverware. Most recently at the World Kendo Championships in Japan in 2015, I finished among the top eight, and won silver and gold medals at the Latin American Championships. This triumph can only be compared to beating Cambridge a few times (although not as much as I wanted) at the Varsity Games.
A final note: during my time at Hertford, I got the chance and privilege to work part-time in the Development Office. I had the opportunity to witness first-hand the importance of giving something back to college. Besides from being a public funded university, many of the bursaries, scholarships and grants are funded by donations from former Hertfordians. No matter how small, your donation makes a difference for someone who wants to pursue their dream at Oxford.