Meet the student scholars selected for academic excellence, leadership and dedication to bettering the world
The UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) is internationally recognized for its excellence – and a key reason for our growing distinction is our ability to attract the best graduate students from across the globe.
Each year, GPS selects students to honor with the special distinction of Dean’s Fellow. Students awarded this fellowship exude the professional qualities of excellence that the school cultivates; fellows are selected based on academic excellence, leadership, civic engagement and regional involvement.
We invited this year’s Dean’s Fellows to answer a few questions about themselves, their post-graduation plans and their best advice for incoming GPS students. For more on this year’s cohort, read our student profiles.
What’s the most challenging part of grad school? What’s the most rewarding?
Elissa Bozhkov |
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Nicholas Heimann |
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Tomás Lavados |
What do you hope to do after graduating from GPS?
Kenneth “Cashin” Brown |
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Alberto Santos-Davidson |
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Swati Nair |
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Jorge Mata Ochoa |
Who has made the biggest impact on you during your time at GPS?
Laura Nóra |
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McKenzie Richardson Another person worth recognizing in my time at GPS is Vice Adm. Robert Thomas. He has not only been an excellent professor but also a fantastic mentor who has supported me since the day I approached him to ask for his thoughts on my GPS application while I was an undergrad at UC San Diego. He has motivated me to pursue my niche interests in security studies while also challenging me to become a better writer and researcher. I’m very grateful for his support and I’m eager to think of more research ideas to throw at him before I graduate.” |
What advice would you give to new students at GPS?
Chase Farrell |
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Nikki Jazayeri |
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Zeyu Li |
The full cohort of 2021-2022 Dean’s Fellows are as follows:
- Deepika Bagaria, MPP ’22
- Elissa Bozhkov, MIA ’22
- Kenneth “Cashin” Brown, MIA ’22
- Chase Farrell, BA/MPP ’22
- Chi “Will” Gao, MCEPA ’22
- Nicholas Heimann, MIA ’22
- Ayush Jain, MPP ’22
- Nikki Jazayeri, BA/MIA ’22
- Tomás Lavados, MIA ’22
- Zeyu Li, MCEPA ’22
- Kelli Maples, MPP ’22
- Jorge Mata Ochoa, MIA ’22
- Swati Nair, MIA ’22
- Laura Nóra, MPP ’22
- McKenzie Richardson, MPP ’22
- Alberto Santos-Davidson, MPP ’22
- Tyler Spencer, MIA ’22
- Harrison Tang, BA/MIA ’22
- Miriam Vakhitova, MPP ’22
- Joshua Zajdel, MIA ’22