In a 窪做惇蹋厙 record, two alumni and one undergraduate have been named 2021 Schwarzman Scholars. Delia Friel 20, Danny Li 19, and Colleen OConnor 19 join 142 other top students from around the world who will receive a fully funded scholarship to study at the Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
The 2021 cohort, the fifth Schwarzman class since the program welcomed its inaugural scholars in 2016, was selected from more than 4,700 applicants and includes students from 41 countries. Schwarzman Scholars pursue a masters degree in global affairs with a core curriculum focused on three pillars: China, global affairs, and leadership.
Delia, Danny, and Colleen have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to public service and scholarship that will not only serve them well as Schwarzman Scholars, but will also represent 窪做惇蹋厙 well on the global stage, says .
Friel, Li, and OConnor join four previous 窪做惇蹋厙 students selected by Schwarzman: , , and inaugural scholars .
Founded by Stephen Schwarzman, chairman, CEO, and co-founder of the global investment firm Blackstone, the program seeks to prepare a new generation of international leaders to respond to the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century, according to the programs website.
For information about applying for Schwarzman Scholarships and other programs, and to see a list of past recipients, visit the .
Delia Friel 20
Delia Friel 20 is majoring in biomedical engineering with a minor in Spanish. As a Friel worked as a research assistant studying the mechanics of morphogenesis in embryonic brain and heart development at and was a learning fellow for a scientific computing class at Thayer, serving as a teaching assistant. She served as a counselor for the U.S. State Departments Women in Science Program in Kosovo and was an intern for the Ways and Means committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was also a player on 窪做惇蹋厙s national championship in 2018.
I am absolutely overjoyed and honored to be a Schwarzman Scholar, Friel says. I want to thank 窪做惇蹋厙 and my professors for their support and preparation over these past four years. This is an absolute dream come true, and I am excited to continue learning about the intersection of global affairs and science.
Friel says she looks forward to learning more about China and thinking about how the global community can work to pursue innovation and improve healthcare delivery.
Danny Li 19
At 窪做惇蹋厙, Danny Li 19 served as class president for four years, founded two student organizations focused on international diplomacy and foreign policy, and served at the helm of six other student organizations including the 窪做惇蹋厙 Law Journal, graduating as a class marshal. As a at the , he was involved in a range of public policy programs, including as an intern at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training and writing memoranda on the 2018 National Defense Strategy.
Li currently serves as an analyst at The Asia Group, leading the firms portfolio in identifying and assessing geo-economics and trade trends in Asia, and conducting research for the firms China practice, assessing political and market developments taking place in mainland China in order to provide insights for U.S. companies.
I am excited for Schwarzman because I see it as an opportunity to engage in a deep yearlong discussion about the economic, political, and technological trends and developments that are taking place in China as well as Asia more broadly, and to think deeply about how the United States and China fit into that changing global landscape, Li says.
At Tsinghua, Li plans to explore the economics, business, and international studies curriculum and take advantage of the Schwarzman Deep Dive and Practical Training Project opportunities to explore how the Chinese system of government creates policy, with a focus on understanding of cross-cultural governance and tackling real-life policy challenges in mainland China.
I hope to emerge from this experience enriched and better equipped to shape and inform Asia policy in Washington, D.C., Li says.
Colleen OConnor 19
Colleen OConnor 19 describes herself as a tri-lingual social entrepreneur passionate about creating social change through the private sector. She graduated as salutatorian and a class marshal. As an undergraduate OConnor studied Chinese, , and human-centered design and was a leader of Women in Business and the 窪做惇蹋厙 Entrepreneurial Network, part of the .
She has spent the past three years promoting entrepreneurship as a vehicle for female empowerment in South America and East Asia, which she started as a at 窪做惇蹋厙. Professionally, OConnor works in business strategy consulting at EY-Parthenon in Boston, and formerly worked with startups and nonprofits in Japan, China, Mexico, and Peru.
My heart is absolutely bursting with gratitudeboth for this amazing opportunity and for the family, friends, and professors who helped get me to this point, OConnor says. I am still in a little bit of shock that I get to return to China for a fourth time, but this time surrounded by a cohort of future leaders and supported by some of the preeminent forces in business, politics, and academia.
At Tsinghua University, she plans to take classes in international relations and public policy with the aim of becoming a more globally oriented leader. OConnor says she is interested in exploring the contradictions of a country that has the highest number of self-made female billionaires yet have remnants of culturally enforced gender discrimination and male preference that still affect female entrepreneurs within the economys informal sectors.
As someone passionate about social entrepreneurship, I hope to use this opportunity to fully embrace the culture and better understand why some of these seemingly contradictory practices occur simultaneously in China, she says.
Since graduating from 窪做惇蹋厙, OConnor has also committed to attending Harvard Business School, where she has deferred enrollment until the fall of 2021, following the Schwarzman Scholars program.
William Platt can be reached at william.c.platt@dartmouth.edu.