Luka André Heidari 

Congressional Intern, Presented by Horizon Therapeutics 

Hometown: Glenview, Illinois 

School: Emory University 

Major: International Diplomacy and Global Development 

Placement: The Office of Sen. Tammy Duckworth 

Born in La Paz, Bolivia and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Luka accredits his passion for public service to his upbringing and unique heritage: Luka is one of only one hundred Bolivian-Iranians in the world. 

Luka has always been particularly passionate about equity, public policy, human rights, and international relations. Aside from his work interning for the State Department’s Hispanic Employee Council of Foreign Affairs Agencies, Luka is the current Activism Director for Young Democrats of Emory, and a Public Service & Social Justice Youth Awardee of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. He is also an incoming Virtual Student Federal Service Political Research Intern at the State Department’s Iran Regional Presence Office in Dubai.  

Luka is a student at Emory University studying International Diplomacy and Global Economics through the Interdisciplinary Studies program, and minoring in Persian. He is also a Woodruff Scholar—the most prestigious, merit-based full ride scholarship offered at Emory.  

After graduation, Luka hopes to join the Foreign Service, largely inspired by his cultural background and passion for diplomacy. As a CHCI Intern, Luka hopes to gain valuable insight into the legislative side of U.S. international relations, in hopes of bringing that nuanced perspective to his work in diplomacy one day.