Incoming Student Profile: Javier Hernández Lopez

The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy is often the starting point of careers in public service. But for some students, Harris provides tools to enhance a journey that has already begun. Such is the case with Javier Hernández Lopez, who is now serving in the government of his home country, Spain.  

Hernández has worked since 2015 as an analyst in the Public Issuers Coordination Department of the General Secretariat of the Treasury and Financial Policy in Madrid. Reporting to the General Director and Secretary General of the Treasury, Hernández has many responsibilities within the government, including analyzing the fiscal performance and debt portfolio management of 17 Spanish regions and the local government subsector. Among his other duties, he advises Spanish municipalities on financial matters, such as the valuation of embedded derivatives attached to loans and other products.

“My choice of a career in the public sector stems from my worldview that each of us lives inside many interlocking communities: our family, our city, our workplace, our country,” Hernández says. “We benefit from all of these relationships, both materially and spiritually, and each of us has an obligation to become actively engaged and contribute what we can to them in return.”

His interest in economics and politics began in school when his parents encouraged him and his four siblings to ask questions and seek answers by studying, reading, and keeping up with the latest news. Hernández was intrigued by public affairs and current events, as well as history and philosophy, and his curiosity led to a lifelong fascination with economics. “I discovered that economics is a powerful discipline by which to analyze our world and shed light on the causes and consequences of social forces,” Hernández says.

Even before completing his undergraduate degree in economics at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Hernández had planned on pursuing a graduate degree. “Since my ultimate goal was a career in the Spanish civil service,” he explains, “I decided to focus on passing the competitive exams necessary to gain access to a position in the Ministry of Economy.”

He continues: “I thought that the five years of experience in the administration would give me a solid foundation on which to build my theoretical and quantitative tools. Ironically, once I was working in the public sector, I realized that widening my knowledge and quantitative techniques would enable me to make an even greater contribution inside the organization.”

Hernández first heard about Harris from an alumnus of Chicago Booth who happened to be the brother of his closest friend. “When I told him about my interest in applying to a graduate program he immediately suggested I have a look at the Harris website,” Hernández says. “Later, when I connected with two Harris alumni who shared their own transformative experiences with me, Harris became my first choice.”  

Other considerations went into Hernández’s decision. “I’ve visited New York and Boston, but I especially liked the fact that Harris was in the Midwest,” he says. “I experienced American hospitality in that part of the country when I was 15 years old when I spent two weeks in Ohio as part of a student exchange program. I was amazed at how warm and friendly Americans were — not only my host family but everyone else at the school and in the town.”

Hernández says he also liked the diversity of Harris’ student body. “I welcome the chance to meet and study with people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America,” he says. “I believe these are areas of the world that will play an enormous role in our future.”

An extra incentive to apply to Harris, Hernández says, was that his “partner in life,” Teresa Carmen Morales Gómez-Luengo, was also admitted to the program. The two met when they were both preparing for the civil-service examinations and later worked together for a time in the same government agency. “The opportunity for us to study and grow together at Harris is a major priority,” Hernández says.

“Teresa and I look forward to using our education to contribute to the improvement of the Spanish administration and the policies it produces,” Hernández says. “I believe that inclusive, transparent, and evidence-based policies are the right path to follow, and I hope my MPP from Harris will allow me to make a significant impact in this direction.”