Gopi Bhamidipati
Arlington
Summary
Dynamic educator with a proven track record at St. Ambrose Dual Language Catholic School, specializing in standards-based curriculum design and inclusive learning. Expert in integrating technology and primary source analysis to foster critical thinking. Achieved significant student engagement through innovative lesson delivery and collaborative initiatives, enhancing educational outcomes in social studies.
Overview
4
4
years of professional experience
Work History
Middle School Social Studies Teacher
St. Ambrose Dual Language Catholic School
Annandale
12.2024 - Current
- Design and deliver engaging lessons in history, geography, civics, and economics aligned with state and national social studies standards for grades 6-8.
- Create a supportive and inclusive classroom environment that encourages critical thinking, inquiry-based learning, and respectful discussions on historical and contemporary issues.
- Assess student progress through a variety of formative and summative methods, including projects, presentations, quizzes, and written assignments.
- Integrate primary sources, multimedia, and technology to enhance student understanding and connect historical events to current global and national affairs.
- Collaborate with colleagues, parents, and school administrators to support student learning and participate in school-wide initiatives and professional development.
- Pursue ongoing professional development to stay current with instructional best practices and curriculum advancements.
Adjunct Faculty
Virginia Tech
Arlington
12.2024 - 02.2025
- Designed and delivered a graduate-level foreign policy course analyzing multipolarity, non-state actors, and realist critiques of Middle East instability, using the Israel-Iran proxy conflict as a central case study.
- Developed dynamic curriculum exploring shifting power dynamics, including roles of state actors (US, Russia, China) and non-state groups (Hezbollah, Hamas), to challenge traditional diplomatic frameworks.
- Facilitated critical analysis of theoretical vs. real-world conflict drivers, guiding students to evaluate alliance fragmentation, miscalculation risks, and diplomatic obstacles in multipolar systems.
- Structured self-paced learning for a compressed 3-week format, requiring 20-30 hours/week of student engagement with scholarly texts, conflict mapping, and evidence-based debates.
- Achieved key learning outcomes: Students gained proficiency in applying realist theory to proxy warfare, comparing state/non-state actor strategies, and synthesizing research into policy-relevant arguments.
Lead Instructor
Virginia Tech
Arlington
01.2021 - 01.2025
- Curriculum Development: Designed and taught specialized courses, including a 2023 module on environmental defenders, integrating case studies on Latin America with real-world investigative insights.
- Coordination: Organized 10+ expert speaker sessions across four semesters, aligning with course themes on human rights, environmental defense, and diplomacy.
- Guest Speaking arrangements: Secured high-profile participants, including a former Canadian ambassador to Jordan and a Jordanian embassy official (2024), to discuss Middle East diplomacy and media relations.
- Partnership Building: Collaborated with EarthRights International to co-develop guest content and create student internship opportunities, enhancing applied learning in environmental justice.
- Student Project Leadership: Facilitated sessions with D.C.-based human rights lawyers (2022), guiding students in drafting U.S. State Department Human Trafficking Country Assessments for Latin America.
- Virtual Program Management: Successfully executed fully remote speaker engagements (2021) on refugee access to COVID-19 relief, overcoming pandemic constraints to maintain global participation.
Adjunct Faculty
Virginia Tech
Arlington
06.2024 - 07.2024
- Designed and taught an advanced seminar analyzing the decline of Cold War-era blocs and the rise of flexible alliances, issue-based coalitions, and mini-lateral groupings (e.g., Quad, AUKUS).
- Developed case studies from South Asia and the Middle East to explore how states leverage non-ideological, transactional partnerships for strategic advantage.
- Guided students in critiquing traditional diplomatic frameworks and evaluating emergent 'post-alliance' statecraft through simulations and policy memos.
- Integrated real-world examples (e.g., India's multi-alignment, Gulf states' hedging strategies) to demonstrate how regional actors navigate multipolarity.
- Fostered debate on the long-term implications of fluid alliances for global governance, conflict resolution, and U.S. foreign policy.
Education
Ph.D. - Planning, Governance, and Globalization
Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)
Arlington, VA01.2025
M.A. - Journalism and Mass Communication
Osmania University
India01.2016
PG Diploma - Broadcast Journalism
ISBM
Pune, India01.2004
Skills
- Standards-Based Curriculum Design
- Inquiry-Based Learning
- Primary Source Analysis
- Classroom Management
- EdTech Integration
- Inclusive Learning
Accomplishments
- Book Proposal Under Review: Submitted book proposal of dissertation thesis titled 'Strategic Autonomy and India's Foreign Policy Towards the GCC, Israel and Iran from 1992 to 2022: Exploring the Kautilyan Foreign Policy Principles' under review for publication in the Palgrave and Macmillan Publications Springer Series.
- Peer Reviewer: Served as a peer reviewer for Journal of Arabian Studies, focusing on areas of expertise including India's foreign policy, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Iran-Israel relations.
Language Expertise
- English, Professional Fluency
- Hindi, Native/Bilingual Fluency
- Urdu, Professional/Conversational Fluency
- Telugu, Native/Bilingual Fluency
Publications
- India's Tightrope Walk: Navigating U.S.-Israel-Iran Tensions, 03/25/25, New Lines Institute, Washington, D.C.
- South Asia's Pivot to the Gulf, 02/27/25, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, AGSIW, Washington, D.C.
- Modi 3.0: India Confronts New Realities in a Chaotic Middle East, 10/07/24, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, AGSIW, Washington, D.C.
- India's Balancing Act in the Middle East, 04/05/24, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, AGSIW, Washington, D.C.
- India's Strategic Autonomy Enters the Gulf Waters, 07/27/23, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, AGSIW, Washington, D.C.
- India's Shift From Strategic Restraint to Strategic Recalibration in West Asia, 08/09/22, Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, AGSIW, Washington, D.C.
- How India Became a Global Energy Player, 09/20/22, The National Interest
References
- Dr. Joel Peters, Chair, Virginia Tech, peters25@vt.edu
- Dr. Ariel Ahram, Virginia Tech, ahram@vt.edu
- Dr. Giselle Datz, Virginia Tech, gdatz@vt.edu
Invited Talks
- Regional Implications of the Kashmir Mass Shooting, 05/06/25, New Lines Institute
- Analyzing Trajectory of India's External Relations, 08/22/22, Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, Pakistan
Expert Commentary
- Lotus in the Desert: Burgeoning India Middle East Relationship, 02/09/23, Al Monitor
- Trading places: Gulf-Asia trade on the rise, 05/01/25, INTHEBLACK
Timeline
Middle School Social Studies Teacher
St. Ambrose Dual Language Catholic School
12.2024 - Current
Adjunct Faculty
Virginia Tech
12.2024 - 02.2025
Adjunct Faculty
Virginia Tech
06.2024 - 07.2024
Lead Instructor
Virginia Tech
01.2021 - 01.2025
Ph.D. - Planning, Governance, and Globalization
Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA)
M.A. - Journalism and Mass Communication
Osmania University
PG Diploma - Broadcast Journalism
ISBM
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