Aidan Leahy -

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Aidan Leahy is a current Double Dawg student, graduating with honors in May 2023 with degrees in history and Portuguese. His studies paid particular attention to cultural memory, writing his thesis on the intersection of race and literature in 20th-century Brazil. Aidan is currently an advisor at the UGA Office of Global Engagement, assisting in a global education mission that helps nearly 3,000 students study abroad each year. In this role, he has gained experience in public management and refined his technical and communication skills. Aidan is also active in undergraduate research, analyzing patterns of speech limitation in K-12 schools as part of Dr. Richard Blissett’s Democracy and Equity in Education Politics (DEEP) Lab. He hopes to develop his skills in policy innovation as an MPA student to prepare for a career mending structural inequities.

In his free time, Aidan enjoys reading, rock climbing, and competing on the national trivia scene. He represented and medaled for the United States at the 2021 International Quizzing Olympiad in Krakow, Poland, and is currently captaining the UGA team on NBC’s Capital One College Bowl.

Education

B.A.| The University of Georgia / Morehead Honors College | 2023 |History

Educational Experiences

I was heavily involved on campus as an undergraduate, holding leadership positions in three student organizations and having the opportunity to study at both the University of Oxford and the Middlebury Language School for Portuguese. I also actively participated in research, presenting at an undergraduate symposium as part of the DEEP Research Group in educational policy and holding membership in the Roosevelt Society.

More About

Career Goals

I would like a career at the forefront of policy innovation, either through a government position or another avenue for policy research. Eventually, I would like to put my writing and research skills to use in academia.

Of Note

Magna cum laude graduate
Adam Cramond Martin Travel Award
UGA at Oxford Foundation Scholar
Department of Education FLAS Fellow
International Quizzing Olympiad two-time medalist

Research Interests

Utilizing my background in historical research of the Global South, I am particularly interested in studying how governments syncretize policy precedent toward progressive implementations of housing, transportation, and education policy.