Current Students
Current First Years- Class of 2025
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Isabella Absi
Education: B.A. in Politics with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies from Pomona College
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Intended Academic Focus: Democratic backsliding, hybrid regimes, “good” governance with a focus in the Middle East and North Africa.
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Tala Alahmar
Education: B.A. in International Studies from the University of Michigan
Hometown: Damascus, Syria
Intended Academic Focus: Human rights and diplomatic relations.
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Abdulaziz Alenezi
Education: Political Science with concentration in IR and minor in Middle Eastern & North African Studies
Hometown: Kuwait
Intended Academic Focus: Democratization, Democratic transition, Governance, and Authoritarianism.
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Clayton Asai
Education: B.A. in International Social Sciences from Gakushuin University
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Intended Academic Focus: East Asian Politics, International Relations, and Comparative Politics
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Lily Ashbrook
Education: B.A. in Political Science & Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Intended Academic Focus: Refugee Policy concerning Europe & the Middle East, Human Rights, Democratization.
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Roudah Chaker
Education: B.A. in Government with a minor in History from Georgetown University
Hometown: Northern Virginia
Intended Academic Focus: The mechanisms and strategies of democratization, specifically exploring the role of social and informal institutions in facilitating or hindering the transition from autocratic regimes to democratic governance.
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Kal Desta
Education: B.A. in International Studies with a minor in Public Administration and a cluster in Peace & Conflict Transformation from Brigham Young University
Hometown: Ethiopia
Intended Academic Focus: Foreign relations, Conflict resolution, Democratization.
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Zora Hermans
Education: BA in Political Science and Writing & Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University
Hometown: Silver Spring, MD
Intended Academic Focus: American politics, democratic backsliding, European politics, democratic institutions.
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Gauri Kaushik
Education: B.A. in Politics and English from Mount Holyoke College
Hometown: Cupertino, California
Intended Academic Focus: Relationship between Religion, Ethnic Conflict, and Democracy in South Asia.
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Hamza Khan
Education: B.A. in Political Science & Judaic Studies with a Certificate in Asian Studies from University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Hometown: Potomac, MD
Intended Academic Focus: Judicial reform, campaign finance reform and the role of the free press in furthering transparency & democratic reform.
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Donya Lechqer
Education: B.A. in Political Science
Hometown: Virginia Beach
Intended Academic Focus: Middle Eastern and North African politics.
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Yufu Liang
Education: Bachelor of Laws at China University of Political Science and Law
Hometown: China
Intended Academic Focus: Gender and international security, state-society relations
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Brianna Ma
Education: Joint BA/MA student in Government, Georgetown University
Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan
Intended Academic Focus: Government
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Jonathan Mendoza:
Education: B.A. in Arts for Social Advocacy, with a minor in Political Science, Poetry from Berklee College of Music
Hometown: Framingham, Massachusetts
Intended Academic Focus: Gathering and applying the lessons of foreign democratization efforts to multiracial pro-democracy political and social movement organizing in the US.
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Andriy Nix
Education: B.A. in Political Science from Christopher Newport University
Hometown: Arlington, Virginia
Intended Academic Focus: Eurasia/Former Soviet Union area
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Michael Parisi
Education: B.A. in International Relations and Modern History from the University of St Andrews
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Intended Academic Focus: Global authoritarianism and its connections to democratic backsliding as well as the growth of far right conceptions of nationalism in North America and Europe.
![](https://government.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2023/09/3B0AB35F-C5A9-431B-8725-3A6C0BE88A7C-Saroy-Rakotoson-1024x896.jpeg)
Saroy Rakotoson
Education: BA History and International Relation at King’s College London
Hometown: Antananarivo, Madagascar
Intended Academic Focus: Gender in IR or overall the place in gender in the institutions of Democracy
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Fahad Saad
Education: Bachelor’s in Government and International Politics
Hometown: Kuwait
Intended Academic Focus: Democracy Promotion, Political Behavior, and Research Methodology.
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Alex Szlabowicz
Education: B.A. from the University of Florida
Hometown: Ft Myers, FL
Intended Academic Focus: Democracy promotion in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
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Justin Wanki
Education: Law
Hometown: Cameroon/Bamenda
Intended Academic Focus: Research about African and Latin American democracies.
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Jacqueline Wu
Education: B.A. in Economics from National Chengchi University and M.A. in National Development from National Taiwan University (in progress)
Hometown: Taiwan
Intended Academic Focus: Democratization, Foreign policy, Global financial security, Technology governance.
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Michelle Ye
Education: B.A. in English from University College London
Hometown: Toronto, Canada and Hong Kong, China
Intended Academic Focus: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Relations.
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Nicholas Zochowski
Education: Vanderbilt University
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Intended Academic Focus: Legislatures, authoritarianism, democratization.
Current Second Years- Class of 2024
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Milan Bailey
Education: B.S. in Political Science & Sociology from Campbellsville University
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Intended Academic Focus: The relationship between human rights, democracy, religion, and law. Regional interests: MENA.
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Adnan Basheer
Education: B.S. in Politics & International Relations from University College London (UCL)
Hometown: Dubai, U.A.E./Chennai, India
Intended Academic Focus: Good Governance reforms in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Charlene Batlle
Education: B.A. in Humanities with a concentration in Politics and Ethics from Bard College Berlin
Hometown: Pinar del Río, Cuba
Intended Academic Focus: Diplomacy, Democratic backsliding, Democracy Promotion.
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Louis Bonnefous
Education: B.A. in Political Science & International Affairs from Northeastern University
Hometown: Paris, France
Intended Academic Focus: Immigration and refugees issues, relationship between nationalism and democracy in Europe, democracy promotion in Central and West Africa.
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Leesa Danzek
Education: B.A. in Political Science from University of Southern California
Hometown: Simi Valley, California
Intended Academic Focus: Role of civil society in democratization and democratic backsliding; intersection of policy, media, and grassroots organizing in support of democracy, civil rights, and human rights; how social media is leveraged in international diplomacy.
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Rafael de Osma Bedoya
Education: B.A. in International Business from Rollins College
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Intended Academic Focus: My present focus lies on investigating Latin America’s role in the energy transition as well as monitoring the imminent rise of polarization, democratic backsliding, and economic populism in the region.
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Sohila Hassan
Education: B.A. in International Government and Politics with a minor in Security and Intelligence Studies from George Mason University
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt and Newport News, Virginia
Intended Academic Focus: Cultural and Societal Impacts of Democratization and Gender and Conflict.
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Tyler Heffern
Education: B.A. in Politics from Fairfield University
Hometown: Stratford, Connecticut
Intended Academic Focus: Election Administration and Democratic Erosion.
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Max Henning
Education: B.A. in Neuroscience from University of Southern California
Hometown: Pittsboro, North Carolina
Intended Academic Focus: The adaptation of international democracy assistance practices for application in the United States.
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Collin Hulling
Education: Western Oregon University
Hometown: Sheridan, Oregon
Intended Academic Focus: Impact of Authoritarian regimes, especially China/Russia in young, and established democracies around the world.
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Opal Malai
Education: B.A. in Politics and International Relations from University of Kent (UK)
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Intended Academic Focus: Political theory related to democracy, Democratic Backsliding in South East Asia (ASEAN), Diplomacy and Democracy, polarization and its influences around the world.
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Ruwaidah Maudarbux
Education: B.A. in Media and Communication from De Montfort University, M.A. in International Studies and Diplomacy from School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS
Hometown: Northamptonshire – England
Intended Academic Focus: Democratic Backsliding, Institution Building.
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Nathan Posner
Education: B.A. in Government from Georgetown University
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Intended Academic Focus: Democratic Backsliding and Extremist groups in existing democracies.
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Katja Volz
Education: B.A. in Sociology from University of British Columbia
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Intended Academic Focus: Democratization, international development, corruption, with a regional interest in Eastern Europe/Europe.