Shaun Karakkattu is a fourth-year Cornelius Vanderbilt scholar at Vanderbilt University majoring in Economics and History. An Indian-American born in Dubai and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Shaun's interests lie in policy work, specifically Kerala’s economic model, international development, and behavioral economics, with a keen curiosity about how decision-making works, focusing on why people do the things they do.Shaun is an accomplished speaker, having presented at the UNFCCC, UNCCD, and TEDx. He is a Presidential Gold Volunteer Awardee and has interned at the State Department, USAID, Southwest Airlines, United Nations Foundation, and Alvarez & Marsal in public sector consulting.During the pandemic, Shaun created the Youthomatic podcast and worked at PBS Newshour, highlighting youth experiences in activism and research including his own research Glioblastoma Multiforme at The Translational Genomics Research Institute. At Vanderbilt, Shaun is also a research assistant at the Building Knowledge Lab, a Buchanan Fellow, and a member of Alpha Kappa Psi. Additionally, he serves in a youth advisor capacity at In Network: The National Security Academy and UNCCD Youth Caucus.If you are looking for a student interested in government, business, or healthcare, please reach out!