Nicolai grew up in Los Angeles, California and received his B.A. in International Relations from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He had the opportunity to complete a year of French studies; his B.A. was taught in French. After graduating, he worked in corporate social responsibility as an Environment, Social and Governance analyst for a sustainable investment consulting firm. His focus was on private sector engagement in peacebuilding. He is currently pursuing the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) at Georgetown University. Nicolai is particularly interest in conflict resolution, mediation, and peacebuilding in the post-Soviet space. He hopes to pursue a career in diplomacy and conflict resolution in the post-Soviet space. He speaks Russian and French.

"I chose the MSFS program because of the outstanding faculty and the opportunities to become involved with the wide variety of domestic foreign policy institutions, international organizations and NGOs that D.C. has to offer."