Scholars

Yadong Li graduated from Tsinghua University with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Communication. He interned as a reporter in the African Bureau of the Xinhua News Agency in Nairobi and later joined McKinsey’s Nigeria team for a research project titled “Dance of the Lions and Dragons: Chinese Enterprises in Africa,” where he interviewed more than 300 Chinese companies investing in Africa and completed his manuscript, Advantages of Backwardness: Chinese Enterprises in Africa. These publications about Africa’s prospects have inspired Chinese investors to venture into Africa with investment to spur growth. He was honored as Tsinghua University’s “Student of the Year in 2017,” and worked for the Startimes Group in Ghana after graduation. Yadong is from China.

Yangeng (Jerry) Jiang recently graduated from Bowdoin College, majoring in Economics and Education. As a 4-time Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American, Yangeng was the captain of the Bowdoin men’s tennis team. He is the first Chinese person to win both the NCAA National Doubles Championship and the NCAA Team Championship, which is Bowdoin’s first-ever men’s national title. Before joining Schwarzman Scholars, Yangeng will work at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps as the assistant tennis coach and sports game manager. Yangeng hopes to apply his knowledge and student-athlete experience to promote globalization and cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world through sports. Yangeng is from China.

Yicheng Li graduated from the University of Sydney with a bachelor's degree in Social Science. His interest is to find solutions to education inequality in China's rural areas. He previously organized several teaching volunteer programs in Sichuan Province. Yicheng attended leadership camps such as Youth Co-lab, and won a top prize at the Young Successor program. Through Schwarzman Scholars, Yicheng hopes to learn public policy from experts and seek potential partnerships to work on anti-poverty goals. Yicheng is from China.

Yunjie Lai graduated from Duke University with majors in Economics and International Comparative Studies (ICS) with concentration in China and East Asia. She was invited to give the valedictory remarks in 2019’s ICS graduation speech. In 2014, she co-founded a cultural self-media platform, Insight China, and serves as the chief editor for North America. Selected in the first batch of Sequoia Scholars, Yunjie serves the international business unit in a Chinese AI company where she continues her passion to connect Chinese AI solutions with global partners. Yunjie is also a Secondary National Athlete of Rhythmic Gymnastics trained since the age of 6. Yunjie is from China.

Yusheng Zhang is passionate about fostering global entrepreneurship. He joined Ernst & Young as a consultant after interning with the Global Entrepreneurship Network and a Fortune 50 company. He double majored in Business Administration and Global Studies and minored in Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated as a GLOBE Scholar, with Phi Beta Kappa, Highest Honors and Distinction. At UNC, Yusheng founded 180 Degrees Consulting, served as President of the Carolina International Relations Association, and co-organized the 2018 Duke-UNC China Leadership Summit. Yusheng was born in China and is from the United States.

Zane Zovak graduated from Baylor University majoring in International Studies within the Baylor Interdiciplinary Core (BIC) honors program. He supplemented his studies with minors in political science and Chinese in addition to extracurricular involvement as VP of the Triathlon team and as Co-Secretary General of Baylor Model United Nations. He has since been a John Jay Fellow as well as a policy intern at the California Policy Center. Currently, he is a research assistant at the Wilson Center researching post-Cold War DPRK as well as a national security intern at AEI. Zane has dual citizenship from Australia and the United States.

Zeena Nisar graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology. Zeena is passionate about space research and conducted bioastronautics research with BioServe Space Technologies. Her research has led her to Germany for the 2018 International Astronautical Congress and Singapore for the 2018 UN Space Generation Workshop. Zeena is currently in Kyrgyzstan on a Fulbright Scholarship teaching and working with the Satellite Girls program to launch the country’s first satellite. She is passionate about contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through space technologies. Zeena is from the United States.

Zeyu Duan obtained a master’s degree in Law with Distinction from the University of Oxford, where he was a COSF Scholar. He received his undergraduate education at Xiamen University (XMU) and was a member of the Siyuan Program and board member of the XMU Student Associations’ Federation. Zeyu was funded by the China Scholarship Council to study law at Maastricht University on an exchange. Zeyu led numerous research projects, which involved fieldwork in China and Southeast Asian countries. With a profound interest in safeguarding economic globalization with international law, Zeyu hopes to acquire a deeper knowledge of China’s role in the world economy. Zeyu is from China.

Zhaoning (Johnson) Liu earned his bachelor’s degree at the College of William and Mary in Government. Johnson interned at the Russian International Affairs Council and has held internships with various media outlets such as CGTN America and CollegeDaily. For the last year he worked as an Investment Associate at Venture Gurukool, an Indian Venture Capital attracting Chinese investment into India. This experience inspired him to become an entrepreneur and start Brive Consulting to help Chinese companies go overseas. His firm offers consulting services on political risks, legal affairs, business cultures, and is a connected community of over 2000 members in 7 international hubs. Johnson is from China.

Zinan Chen will graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with an M.S.Ed. in Education Entrepreneurship. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Political Economy and minored in International Studies from the University of Washington. Zinan founded her first nonprofit organization in 2009.  She dedicated a decade to promoting education quality, gender equality, and environmental awareness in underprivileged villages in China, Vietnam, and Kenya. In 2017, Zinan co-founded UniWill Ventures in Silicon Valley. She currently serves as General Partner and leads impact investing into early-stage tech startups. Zinan believes in an inclusive economy where technological advancement should benefit all. Zinan is from China.

Zixin (Harry) Wang will graduate from New York University Shanghai in 2020 with a double major in Economics and Data Science. He was awarded the Baogang Excellent Student Award and NYU President’s Service Award for his commitment to social service and international development. Zixin led the first service-learning course about rural education, founded NYU’s Shanghai social impact exchange, and conducted development economics research in Ghana. He was a youth representative at the World Bank Youth Summit and had internship experiences in both American and Chinese educational NGOs. With a global perspective on addressing development challenges, Zixin aspires to be a policy researcher for international organizations. Zixin is from China.