Alumni Profile: Arthur Cheib, MPP'23

Arthur Cheib, MPP'23, has an appreciation for teaching and mentorship that runs deep. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in public administration from Fundação João Pinheiro, he began his own educational startup, Clube Itacolomy, in his home country of Brazil.

“There was this data point that always struck me, which is that male teenagers drop out of schools at a much higher rate than females,” Cheib said. “So, my friend and I decided to see if we could help resolve this issue. We met with students and parents to uncover the heart of why students were disengaging with school and tried to solve that issue together. We were holistic in our approach, getting the kids to engage in teamwork and sports and reflect on their life, faith, and relationship with others. To this day, Clube Itacolomy is one of my proudest accomplishments.”

After founding this startup, Cheib was called to work for the Brazilian Secretary of Education Department, where an issue with data analysis changed his life trajectory. “I was analyzing data from several million students in public schools, and when Excel kept crashing, my friend recommended I use R to process all that data. It was my first coding experience, and it opened up a whole new world.”

After working in state and local government for a few more years, Cheib sought a more international experience. "I also wanted to grow my data analysis skills, and Harris was the perfect fit, so I decided to apply."

Cheib said his Harris experience was perhaps most shaped by working alongside Professor Austin Wright. “He’s an awesome teacher, and he's genuinely concerned about people. He went above and beyond to help me when I was going through a challenging time. As he grew up in a tough environment—which I came to understand when he shared his own story—he understands people’s challenges very well.”

While a student, Cheib also served as Head Teaching Assistant for both the Policy Analytics Credential and the PKU–UChicago International Policy Action Lab, where he co-designed lessons in R programming and spatial analysis with Professor Wright.

After completing his Master of Public Policy (MPP) in spring 2023, Cheib began working full-time as a Data and Education Consultant with The World Bank as part of the Global Education Policy Dashboard team. There, he partners with countries to provide a snapshot of where they are in terms of education and identify learning gaps for their Ministries of Education. He also stays engaged with Harris, serving as a part-time instructor for the Coding Lab for Public Policy.

Cheib soon plans to return home to Brazil to work for a new university, Faculdade Belavista, while continuing to work for The World Bank. “They are starting their first class in February 2024, so it’s a fresh university starting from the ground up. I look forward to teaching there and helping to shape the student experience.