Hometown: Pachuca, Hidalgo, México

Bio: Gerardo Penchyna Cárdenas hails from Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. At age 14 he moved to Tampa, Florida in order to pursue the elusive dream of becoming a professional tennis player. In 2016, Gerardo was accepted to play D1 college tennis at Rice University. Gerardo would graduate from Rice in December of 2020 with major in Political Science (Comparative Politics concentration). Today, he is a proud, first-year graduate student at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Concentration: Leadership and Governance

Research Area: Economic Development and Political History of Mexico; Mexican Nationalism; Democracy in Latin America; US Foreign Policy and Hemispheric Affairs; Migration: Central American & North American

Geographic Research Area: Mexico, US-Latin America Relations