 2007 also saw her named a Rhodes scholar, leading to a master's degree in Developmental Studies from the University of Oxford, awarded in 2007.After two years in Oxford, Walker returned to New Zealand and the Green Party.She spent 2009-11 as a Political and Media Adviser to the party's MPs, leading a poverty research project for the party, and she co-convened the Young Greens of Aotearoa in 2010.