Schwarzman
The latest Schwarzman Scholars have been announced

Six Oxford students awarded Schwarzman Scholarships

Six Oxford students have won prestigious Schwarzman Scholarships, which are graduate fellowships based at Schwarzman College at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

Julian Godding, Linda Sarfo-Gyamfi, Dominic Feroze, Hector Fuentes, Karen Mumba, and Priscilla Guo are among the 147 scholars selected from over 2,800 applicants.

This is the fourth cohort of the Schwarzman Scholarships, and they will begin their studies in autumn 2019.

The 147 Scholars were selected through a challenging application process to test their academic ability and leadership potential. More than 400 semi-finalists were invited to interview in either Beijing, Bangkok, London or New York, and went before panels comprised of CEOs, former heads of state, university presidents, non-profit executives, journalists and other leaders from around the world.

Linda Sarfo-Gyamfi graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in Human Sciences. At university, she was the President of Polygeia, a global health think tank, as well as Oxford Women in Business. These experiences taught her the importance of leading with humility. She is currently one of the youngest Partner Managers at the Facebook EMEA headquarters. She has previous work experience at Thomson Reuters, the Boston Consulting Group and the UK Department of Business Innovation and Skills. Through the Schwarzman Scholarship, she hopes to learn more about innovation in China. Linda is 23 years old and is from Ghana.

Karen Mumba is a Rhodes Scholar holding a double Master’s degree in Public Policy and Business Administration from the University of Oxford. She is furthermore an ACCA Affiliate and holds a Bachelor of Accountancy with Distinction. She is currently working for John Snow, Inc (JSI) in Zambia under the Supporting an AIDS Free Era (SAFE) Project which is USAID/PEPFAR funded as Compliance Specialist. Karen is passionate about examining the role China is playing in Zambia and the African Continent at large with a focus on debt. She has over four years of work experience in sub-Saharan Africa. Karen is 27 years old and from Zambia.

Hector Fuentes is a political activist and a human rights defender from Venezuela. He received a law degree from the Central University of Venezuela (2013). He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree of Public Policy at the University of Oxford. Before his time at Oxford, Hector worked as co-director of the Legal Department of the political party Voluntad Popular and as a Legal Advisor to the National Assembly of Venezuela. He is interested in Chinese foreign policy toward Latin America and the transformations in international trade rules promoted by China. Hector is 28 years old and from Venezuela.

Julian Godding graduated from Oxford University with a Master’s degree in Chemistry. He is passionate about new energy and hopes to work to accelerate the advent of sustainable living. He has recently been working with Prof. Henry Snaith on next-generation photovoltaics to disrupt the silicon solar industry, where he invented a new patented technology. He has also started a company tackling disposable waste and is currently helping one of the UK’s largest energy companies to turn 100% renewable. China is the new world leader in new energy and Julian now sets his sights on making an impact there. Julian is 22 years old and from the United Kingdom.

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.

Dominic Feroze is an LSE and Oxford graduate currently working as an Associate in the Deal Advisory team at KPMG in London. He spent the past year in China as a Policy Advisor with the British Chamber of Commerce in China working on post-Brexit, UK-China relations. While at Oxford, his research specialized in China-India economic relations; a topic he would like to continue to explore further at Schwarzman College. He is passionate about technology and community projects to tackle poverty and founded “Code Your Chance” to tackle this issue. He has previous work experience with the TATA Group in Mumbai and JP Morgan in London. Dominic 24 years old and from the United Kingdom.

“Our newest class includes a diverse group of future leaders from around the world. They join a global network of Scholars who have committed themselves to being a force for change, regardless of where their professional or personal passions take them,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone, and Chairman of Schwarzman Scholars.

“My hope is that a year in Beijing will inspire and challenge these students in ways they haven’t even imagined. I look forward to seeing how this new class will leave its mark.”

“We are thrilled to have another cohort of outstanding young people from around the world,” said Xue Lan, Dean of Schwarzman Scholars. “We look forward to bringing these exceptional minds to Tsinghua and Schwarzman College to explore, debate, and discover the future direction of our global community."