Penn has three new Schwarzman Scholars

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University of Pennsylvania senior Andrew Howard and alumnus Malik Abdul Majeed from The Wharton School, and master’s student Zinan Chen in the Graduate School of Education were chosen to receive the Schwarzman Scholarship, which funds a one-year master’s degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. 

They are part of the fifth class of Schwarzman Scholars and will enroll at Tsinghua University in August 2020. This year, 145 Schwarzman Scholars were selected from more than 4,700 applicants and include students from 41 countries and 108 universities. More than 400 candidates were invited to interview before panels in Beijing, London, New York, or Bangkok. 

“Scholars chosen for this highly selective program have demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities and the potential to bridge and understand cultural and political differences,” according to the Schwarzman program. 

Zinan Chen (Crysti), from the Yunnan Province of China, is pursuing her master’s degree at GSE in Education Entrepreneurship. She earned her bachelor's degree in political economy from the University of Washington. Chen co-founded UniWill Ventures and serves as general partner of this early-stage venture capital fund. She founded her first nonprofit organization at age 16 and since then has been involved in improving education quality, combating malnutrition, and equalizing women's rights in developing countries. She hopes to leverage the power of investment capital combined with goodwill to solve social and environmental issues.

Andrew Howard, from Great Falls, Virginia, is a finance and statistics major. He serves as president of the Wharton Dean’s Advisory Board, as director for Penn’s International Affairs Association student group, and is a scholar for the Penn-Wharton Public Policy Initiative. He is interested in the intersection of public policy, technology, and finance, which he has pursued through internships with Goldman Sachs, IAC/InterActiveCorp, and the Securities & Exchange Commission. He hopes to use his experience as a Schwarzman Scholar to build a global network of innovative entrepreneurs.

Malik Abdul Majeed from Islamabad, Pakistan, graduated with his bachelor’s degree in finance and statistics in 2017. He currently works at Cornerstone Research where he is active in building the firm’s pro bono initiatives. While at Penn, he was a member of the Pakistani community and organized the first Penn Pakistan conference. His interests lie at the intersection of economics and law, specifically how they interact to promote development. Previously he has worked on a randomized controlled trial with the Center of Economic Research in Pakistan and as an investment banking analyst at UBS. 

Schwarzman Scholars pursue a master’s degree in global affairs with a core curriculum focused on three pillars: China, global affairs, and leadership. They have the opportunity to take elective courses from a variety of disciplines, to travel in China, and to participate in professional development opportunities. They study and reside at the new Schwarzman College building to encourage cross-cultural connections and intellectual exchange. 

Howard and Majeed applied for the Schwarzman Scholarship with assistance from Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF).

For a full list of recipients go to schwarzmanscholars.org.

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