Sharon Li (at left) and Yilin Chen (at right) studied global affairs while at Yale College.
Two Yale graduates are among 150 scholars from around the world who have been selected as 2025-26 Schwarzman Scholars, which supports graduate study in China.
Recent graduates Yilin Chen ’23 and Sharon Li ’20 were selected from nearly 5,000 candidates for the prestigious fellowship.
Each will receive funding for a one-year master’s degree program at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
The scholarship program, which was established in 2013, aspires to create a global network of leaders who will shape the future.
“Our tenth cohort fills me with optimism for the future,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman ’69, founding trustee of Schwarzman Scholars. “This year’s selected Scholars are keenly interested in learning about China and broadening their understanding of global affairs, which are both now more important than ever. Our network, now ten classes strong, is already starting to make a global impact, and I am proud of our program’s continued success. I look forward to watching this inspiring community continue to grow.”
The 2025-26 cohort includes scholars from 38 countries and 105 different universities. They join a network of past fellows that now includes more than 1,300 members from 104 countries and 459 institutions worldwide.
Chen, who is from China, graduated from Yale College in 2023 with a B.A. in global affairs and economics, as well as a certificate in French. She is currently a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, working with financial institutions and philanthropies on strategy projects focused on driving environmental and social impact. Previously, she served as an intern at StepStone Group and Caixin Global, where she explored the business implications of China’s regulatory changes. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she hopes to study China’s green finance landscape.
Li is a business manager of Capital One’s new Social Impact Advisory Team, driving private sector innovation for the financial inclusion and equity of marginalized communities. While studying global affairs at Yale, she was a two-time Light Fellow and researched the impacts of technology on society, politics, and human rights in China and the United States. She also founded and leads a nonprofit focused on digital access and literacy and previously co-invented more accessible cancer cell isolation technology. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she aims to bridge social impact solutions across sectors and borders while deepening her understanding of China’s approach to socioeconomic mobility.