Originally from Armenia, Manya Mirzoyan moved to the United States in 2015 to pursue an International Baccalaureate diploma. She then earned her B.A. from the University of Richmond in 2021 with majors in Global Studies and Political Science and received the departmental book award for the highest GPA in the political science coursework. Manya also studied politics and French in Sciences Po Paris as part of her university exchange program. Growing up in the Caucasus and studying Russian from a young age, helped cultivate her regional interest and eventually led her to the Walsh School of Foreign Service. She is particularly interested in the domestic and foreign policies of Russia and Turkey and security issues of the Eastern Europe and Caucasus regions. In the future, she hopes to be involved in Armenian diplomatic and foreign services.