Andy Robaina, a senior studying mathematics and philosophy in Arts & Sciences at WashU, has been named a Gaither Junior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Each year, approximately 15 graduating seniors and recent graduates from around the country are selected to work as research assistants to Carnegie’s senior scholars. Robaina will join the South Asia Program, focusing on strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific.
“My hope is to learn about the geopolitical strategy of South Asian countries, particularly how they are responding to growing tensions between the United States and China,” Robaina said.
Throughout his time at WashU, Robaina has worked as a legislative intern in Congress, conducted research at a national think tank, interned at a political consulting firm and served as an editor for WashU’s journal of professional philosophy.
While studying abroad at Oxford University in 2024, he took his first foreign relations class, which piqued his interest in the topic.
“I realized that the study of international affairs is in many ways the study of how to solve complex problems that matter a great deal to real people’s lives. It felt like I had been introduced to a subject that combined the best parts of math and philosophy — I was hooked,” Robaina wrote in his personal statement. “It is my ultimate goal to help positively shape U.S. foreign policy through a career in government service.”
