Scholars

Lucas Coronel is a German economist and young politician completing his Master’s degree at the University of Munich. In his home region, he held several positions within the ruling German party, achieving improvements in education policy and infrastructure. He also campaigned for stronger youth political participation and more intercultural tolerance in challenging times for his home country. Visiting stays at Tsinghua University and UC Berkeley increased his passion for international understanding and economic cooperation. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he aims to advance his leadership skills for a career devoted to these goals. Lucas is 22 years old and from Germany.

Melissa Diamond is a social entrepreneur, writer, and speaker. She holds a Master’s degree in Conflict, Security, and Development from the University of Bradford, where she was a Rotary Peace Fellow, and a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies: Peace and Conflict from the University of Richmond. Melissa is also the Founder and Executive Director of “A Global Voice for Autism,” an international non-profit organization that supports the development and success of children with autism and trauma-related behavioral challenges in conflict-affected communities. Passionate about youth empowerment, Melissa is a Regional Focal Point for the UN Major Working Group on Children and Youth-SDG 4, has twice served as the Disabilities commitment mentor for the Clinton Global Initiative University, and sits on the Board of Directors for AMENDS, a U.S.-Middle East dialogue and entrepreneurship organization. Melissa is 25 years old and from the United States.

Melissa Li will graduate from Harvard in May 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Neurobiology and Global Health & Health Policy. Melissa serves as president of the Harvard Association for U.S.-China Relations, collaborating internationally to run five annual education conferences in the U.S. and China. She has also directed North America’s largest student-run China forum, chaired committees on global health and human rights for Harvard Model United Nations, and led initiatives providing social services to underserved patients across Boston. At Schwarzman College, Melissa hopes to study challenges and reforms 21in the Chinese healthcare system, taking her insights to graduate studies in medicine and a future career in global health and public policy. Melissa is 21 years old and from Canada and the United States.

Michael Shum majored in Computer Science and Engineering for his Bachelor's degree and concentrated in Artificial Intelligence for his Master's degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He grew up in Beijing before moving to Seattle at age 11. At MIT, Michael conducted research on reinforcement learning before working at a self-driving car startup, and now researches deep learning and dialogue at Salesforce in addition to working on his NLP startup. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Michael hopes to explore how leaders in policy can work together with technologists to change society for the better. Michael is 22 years old and from the United States.

Mohamed Ramy is a native of Cairo excited to study how cultures and their health systems evolve. He sees public policy as an opportunity to resolve the divisive inequalities present in healthcare. After completing his degree in Neuroscience at Amherst College, he undertook a Watson Fellowship focused on the healing of trauma among refugee communities and understanding their concept of “home.” Keen on implementing culturally-informed, cross-disciplinary health strategies in Egypt, Ramy hopes to learn from China’s attempts to provide universal healthcare to its 1.3 billion citizens, and more specifically how it plans to do so in rural settings. Ramy is 22 years old and from Egypt.

Mussab Ali is a Phi Beta Kappa, dual major in biology and economics at Rutgers-Newark University entering his senior year. Mussab was elected onto his school board in Jersey City as the youngest and first Muslim elected official in Jersey City history. In this position, he also serves as the chair of the Student Equity Committee. In this role, he has fought for student voice, better school lunch, reforms in dress code, recycling and much more. Mussab was also appointed to the Immigration Affairs Commission in Jersey City in 2017 and elected as vice chair by his peers. Mussab is 21 years old and from the United States.

Neil Jain is passionate about leveraging technology to provide solutions for communities where governments have previously failed. He studies at Stanford University, working towards a BS in Science, Technology, and Society. While at Stanford, Neil worked as an entrepreneur-in-residence for Peter Diamandis, developing strategy and growing companies focusing on moonshot objectives from mining asteroids to human longevity. He led the rebuilding of the Kairos Society in the United States, recruiting fellows who are focused on solving real world problems through entrepreneurship from schools around the country. Neil is 22 years old and from Seattle, Washington in the United States.

Nicholas (Nick) Pellitta will graduate in 2019 from Rutgers University, where he studies political science, economics, and Spanish as a Presidential Scholar. On campus, Nick co-founded an after-school program for elementary school students, served as the first president of the Honors College, and actively participated in student government. He has interned for numerous elected officials at the state and federal level and believes that government can be society’s largest driver of positive change. Nick hopes to understand more about how China’s economic and political decisions affect American domestic policy. Nick is 21 years old and from the United States.

Norman Mugisha is a graduate of EARTH University, Costa Rica in agriculture sciences. Norman is a servant leader and committed to creating positive change in the world. He has helped local farmers in Guacimo (Costa Rica) to develop their own agribusinesses and value chain to overcome poverty. He is the founder of the Young African Business Booster (YABB) which is a nonprofit organization based in Rwanda that incentivizes and trains youths with an entrepreneurial toolbox that helps them create their own agribusinesses with an aim of reducing unemployment and migration in sub Saharan Africa. Norman is 26 years old and from Rwanda.

Oluwafikayo (Fikayo) Akeredolu is the Enterprise Sales Manager for Nigeria and Cameroon at Bloomberg LP. She graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Durham in 2014. She set up Upskill Nigeria to provide Nigerian millennials with basic workplace skills to bridge the Nigerian skills gap by training young professionals. Fikayo has completed 10 marathons and is on track to complete 30 by 2022. In 2013, she wrote her undergraduate dissertation on the impact of Chinese FDI on Africa’s economic growth. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she will focus on China's interaction with emerging and frontier markets. Fikao is 26 years old and from Nigeria.

On-Man (Henry) Chan is a consultant at Deloitte Consulting, where he focuses on strategic initiatives and serves clients in the technology, healthcare, and retail industries. In 2018, he was selected to be a research fellow at Deloitte's Silicon Valley based think tank - Center for the Edge - to focus on the Future of Work. Henry also worked under Deloitte's former Chief Strategy and Development Officer to develop the next generation of Audit and Assurance services. Prior to his career at Deloitte, Henry worked at Amazon in Seattle, focusing on financial analysis. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he plans to explore China's technological advancement and management models. Henry studied Finance at the University of Washington, is 26 years old, and is from Hong Kong SAR, China.

Opeyemi Awe is a Federal Analyst at Deloitte Consulting. She was selected as a Thomas J. Watson Fellow which allowed her to travel the world engaging with global entrepreneurs and development officials. During her undergraduate career at Grinnell College, Opeyemi served as the Student Body President and Vice President for Student Affairs. She was awarded the Senior Alumni Award and profiled by MSNBC as a ‘Woman of 2014.’ Opeyemi interned at the State Department’s Office of Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. Opeyemi hopes to return to Nigeria and enact sustainable economic policies. Opeyemi is 25 years old and is from Nigeria and the United States.

Pablo Ducru is a Franco-Mexican PhD candidate in Nuclear Science and Computational Engineering at MIT. He is interested in nuclear as a carbon-free power-source for industry in a future electricity mix challenged by intermittency and pricing difficulties. Passionate about bringing advances in algorithms and artificial intelligence out in the physical world to impact our fundamentals of energy, agriculture, health and environment, Pablo hopes to build ventures in China with his fellow Schwarzman Scholars to address these strategic sectors. Prior to MIT, Pablo attended École Polytechnique, interning at Solvay on Chinese environmental regulation, and was a navigation officer in the French Navy. Pablo is 28 years old and from France.

Paul (P.J.) Greenbaum is a senior at Princeton University, concentrating in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and pursuing certificates in the History and Practice of Diplomacy and African Studies. On campus, he is a varsity water polo player and heavily involved with Princeton's Center for International Security Studies and Naval ROTC programs. Upon graduation from the Schwarzman Scholars program, P.J. will serve a minimum of five years in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer or Naval Intelligence Officer. P.J. is 21 years old and from the United States.

Pedro Robledo studied Law at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has more than 6 years of experience in team management, design, and implementation of public policies. In 2015, he was appointed Undersecretary of Youth under the National Ministry of Social Development where he leads a team of 550 agents working on issues including sexual health, youth employment and entrepreneurship, and vulnerable community-based organization strengthening. In 2018, the Undersecretariat became the National Youth Institute where he currently serves as Executive Director. Between 2016 and 2018, Pedro was President of the Youth Chapter of PRO political party. Pedro is 27 years old and from Argentina.

Priscilla Guo graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Technology, Policy, and Society with a secondary in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. As a Clarendon Scholar, she studied artificial intelligence, algorithms, and policy at Oxford University, pursuing a Master’s of Social Science of the Internet. While serving as a representative on NYC Youth Board, Priscilla has worked in both technology and public policy roles at Facebook, Microsoft, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She aspires to use her expertise to shape technology policy for global communities. Priscilla is 22 years old and from the United States.

Qiang Ha graduated from the University of Cambridge with a Bachelor's in Mathematics. His ambition is to create a virtual learning assistant that uses big data and robotics technology to help workers excel in the competition against intelligent machines. Qiang has been eagerly acquiring knowledge and solving practical problems, using machine learning algorithms to make predictions and proving optimality of a widely-used statistical learning algorithm. He is passionate about social changes, raising money for under-privileged children, and helping social enterprises. Schwarzman Scholars provides an excellent platform for Qiang to accomplish his ambition. In his free time, he is an enthusiastic basketball player. Qiang is 21 years old and from China.

Rebekah Ninan is a senior at Princeton University majoring in Politics and South Asian Studies. Rebekah was the President of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society, the country’s oldest collegiate political union, expanding its focus on activism and civic engagement. She also serves as a Residential College Advisor. She has explored her interest in international law as a Liman fellow and in research on wartime sexual violence. She has interned for UNICEF, the State Department’s Pakistan desk, the State Department’s Bureau of Refugees, and non-profits like Legacies of War and ACLU-Tennessee. Rebekah is 21 years old and from the United States.

Richard DeKold is an Army Cadet at The Citadel where he majors in International Politics and Intelligence and Security Studies. Richard reformed the leadership development program at the Citadel as one of its top Cadet Commanders and pioneered interfaith dialogues on LGBT inclusion. He has interned for the Institute for the Study of War’s Afghanistan Project in D.C. and analyzed the security of Chinese investments in Qatar for the Pudong Institute in Shanghai. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Richard plans to serve as an Infantry Officer and identify areas for Sino-American security cooperation. Richard is 21 years old and from the United States.

Ryan Morris is a senior at the Pennsylvania State University - Berks Campus where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Marketing and Management with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is the co-founder of Traduki Technologies, LLC, a startup using technology to reduce language barriers in healthcare, government, and business. Ryan also completed an internship with a Fortune 50 health insurance company where he developed an interest in the social determinants of health in the United States. He aspires to use his experiences to pilot a new approach to healthcare. Ryan is 22 years old from the United States.