Shawn Mazdeyasnan

BA in International Security and Conflict Resolution in 2014 at San Diego State University

MA in Political Science in 2018 at San Diego State University

Shawn was born in Okinawa, Japan, and has also lived in California and Hawaii as well. He earned his BA in International Security and Conflict Resolution with Cum Laude honors in 2014 and his MA in Political Science in 2018, both from San Diego State University. While studying for his BA and MA, Shawn was a member of the San Diego State University Marching Aztecs from 2010 to 2018, playing the bass drum, trumpet, and baritone. He also served as Baritone Section Leader for the 2016-2017 academic year.

After earning his MA, he worked for one year as a patient support specialist in San Diego, working with patients with multiple sclerosis. After that, he moved to Los Angeles and worked for two years as an academic/transfer advisor for international students attending Marymount California University and California State University, Fullerton. He then decided to pursue a career in academia and returned to school, moving to Athens in August 2022.

Since beginning his studies at UGA, Shawn has also been a Teaching Assistant for Maximum Likelihood Estimation II at the University of Michigan’s Inter-University Consortium for Social and Political Research (ICPSR) 2024 Summer Program, as well as a Research Assistant for the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI). When he isn’t busy reading or writing, Shawn spends plenty of quality time with his wife, daughter, and cat.

• 2023 – 2023 – Awarded a Scholarship for Political Science Research, ICPSR Summer Program, University of Michigan
• 2022 – Awarded a Graduate Student Research Grant, Department of International Affairs, University of Georgia
• 2022-2023 – Awarded a Earl F. Ziemke Graduate Fellowship, The University of Georgia
• 2015-2016 – Awarded a Terhune Political Science Fellowship, San Diego State University
• 2014 – Graduated with Cum Laude Honors, San Diego State University

– Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, San Diego State University

– Golden Key International Honour Society, San Diego State University and University of Georgia

– Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization, San Diego State University

Human Rights, Human Security, Political Violence, Nationalism, American Foreign Policy, Public Opinion