Ben Makarechian is a current 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Virginia’s Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where he is majoring in public policy and economics and a minoring in Chinese. His interests include economic development and Chinese foreign policy.

During his time at UVA, his writing on US-China relations has been featured in the Virginia Journal of International Affairs and the Pacific Council Magazine. He has developed leadership skills as a member of UVA’s historic Honor Committee and president of its Rugby Club. In summer 2024, Ben spent nine weeks in Beijing developing his Chinese language skills after being awarded the Monaghan Scholarship by UVA’s Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures.

Outside of his studies and extracurricular engagements, Ben enjoys weightlifting, hiking, and watching professional American football.