Madison Gearin is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. She is an Accelerated Masters student, therefore she is completing her undergraduate education and beginning graduate studies at the same time. She will receive an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service in the spring of 2024. Her degree is in Regional & Comparative Studies, focusing on the Middle East and Russia, Eurasia and Eastern Europe, with a minor in Turkish language. She was an ARIT fellow at Boğaziçi University and a Critical Language Scholarship alternate. Her focus in graduate studies will be genocide denial and memory in the region, along with Turkish politics.