Michael Echemendia ’02
K. Leroy Irvis Fellow
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies
Pittsburgh, Pa.
EDUCATION
B.A., Wofford College (2002)
Master of Letters, St. Andrews, Scotland (2003)
Master of Theological Studies, Candler School of Theology,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia (2006)
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Pittsburg
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Echemendia was a senior at Wofford when the World Trade Center was attacked. The event changed his plans and lead him to study terrorism and political violence. He enrolled in graduate school at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where he studied under Professor Paul Wilkinson, one of the world’s foremost authorities on terrorism. There Echemendia also developed a fascination with the religious motivations and justifications that terrorists use to legitimize violence. He received a fellowship to study in Emory University’s Master of Theological Studies program. Now a third-year doctoral candidate in international affairs and international development at the University of Pittsburg, Echemendia plans to eventually begin a career of public service. His wife, Jennifer Evanko Enchemendia '02, is a third year law student at the University of Pittsburgh School of law.