Since I graduated from IMLI in 2015, I have always felt that new doors and opportunities have been opened for me. I was put on the right track that appears to guarantee my success in the career that I have chosen to pursue, which is serving my country in the diplomatic corps. Shortly after returning to Egypt from Malta, I was nominated to attend a very prestigious training course in the field of security and political studies at the NATO Defense College in Rome (NDC). The course entitled NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC) included various political and legal topics aimed to address the maritime security situation in various areas around the world. I was proud to be one of the participants who were very well aware of the maritime topics. It enabled me to participate actively in the related negotiations and discussions. I was the most junior participant in the course in terms of age and rank. This proves the trust my country has in me. I was also one of four participants chosen to attend advanced discussions with the “Senior Course” group. After the training course in Rome, I returned to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo, Egypt, where I worked as a desk officer for the United Nations (UN) affairs, and was given assignments, including maritime issues. Shortly after working in the UN department for few months, I got promoted to the rank of Third Secretary carrying with it more interesting work responsibilities and exposure. Two months later I was specially nominated to be posted to Abuja, Nigeria, one of Africa’s most important countries and one of Egypt’s biggest partners. Noteworthy is the fact that the relations between Egypt and Nigeria in the maritime field are quite crucial – issues concerning maritime shipping routes, maritime security cooperation, possible Nigerian investments in the new Suez Canal corridor, and Egypt’s hosting of the annual conference of The Associations of Heads of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) held in Abuja, Nigeria in April 2017. I am quite positive that in the near future, I shall be posted in a country where I can utilize the academic benefits I obtained from IMLI and the NDC and the practical experience I gained while working in Abuja, Nigeria. I am hopeful to be posted in New York to serve at our permanent mission to the UN, or London to handle the International Maritime Organization files at our Embassy. All of the above-mentioned achievements, and more yet to come, would not have been possible without the support of the LRF, and the trust that was put in me. For this, I will be forever grateful to the LRF and IMLI and my beloved Malta. May you always support academic growth and the interest of international maritime law!