Jackson alumnus Charles Stone YC ’14 has been selected as a 2019 Knight-Hennessy Scholar. Scholars receive full funding for graduate study at Stanford University.

The program aims to develop an interdisciplinary community of future global leaders to address the world’s most complex challenges through collaboration and innovation.

This year, the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program — now in its second year — received 4,424 applications, an increase of 23% from 2018. The primary selection criteria used to evaluate applicants were independence of thought, purposeful leadership, and a civic mindset. Yale candidates may apply up to four years after they graduate from the university.  

Stone, who is from Hong Kong, plans to pursue a master’s degree in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He majored in global affairs and mechanical engineering at Yale. He aims to lead a technology company that solves critical issues for underserved groups, with strong interests in clean energy, infrastructure development, and social services. He recently worked for one year at Femix International, an off-grid solar company in Uganda and Zambia, where he supported new product launches and customer experience strategy and analytics. He is currently an associate at Boston Consulting Group, and was previously a consultant at Oliver Wyman. Stone is also a pro bono consultant for Care for the Homeless, a New York-based homeless services organization. At Yale, he helped to design and build “PremieBreathe,” a low-cost infant respirator prototype, and participated in a cappella and club water polo.

Read more about the other 2019 Yale recipients in YaleNews