Three Cornellians — Juliana Batista ’16, Atticus DeProspo ’15 and Andrew Schoen ’12 — were named 2016 Schwarzman Scholars, the University announced Jan. 11. This fall, they will live and study at the new Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s most prestigious universities.
These scholars will pursue a one-year master’s degree in public policy, economics and business or international studies, according to the University.
The 111-member inaugural class was selected from a pool of over 3,000 applicants from 135 countries. Cornell is among five Ivy League universities to have more than two Schwarzman Scholars, the University said.
Batista, an industrial and labor relations major and Student Assembly president, said she believed what distinguished the winners was a strong personal narrative and an ability to conect their narrative to “the escalating presence of China on an international stage.”
BATISTA ’16
“I hope that a year at Tsinghua University through Schwarzman College will allow the exploration of the world’s complex intertwining economies from a Chinese perspective,” Batista said. “I also anticipate shedding my normative assumptions to engage in a positive understanding-driven involvement there.”
After the program, she said she hopes to pursue a career in international investing at the World Bank.
“I will bring my previous knowledge about financial markets, corporate social investing and macroeconomics to Schwarzman but build upon them to develop a global perspective,” she said. “Ultimately, I would like to alternate between the public and private sectors and utilize my soft skills to impact both communities.”
Deprospo is an ILR alumnus, who was a member of the Cornell varsity men’s soccer team and the president and founder of Cornell Athlete Ally — an LGBT organization that aims to make the Cornell athletic community a more inclusive environment.
DeProspo credits his time at Cornell as a major factor in his decision to apply for a Schwarzman Scholarship.
“I met over 123 people who inspired me and challenged me to become a better person and leader,” DeProspo said. “The combination of my educational and extracurricular experiences provided me with the motivation and foundation to pursue the Schwarzman Scholarship.”
He added that he is excited to immerse himself in the intellectually stimulating community of scholars and to apply his new knowledge at the program’s completion.
“I look forward to returning to the United States after my year in China and using the experience to continue to advocate for social justice issues,” DeProspo said.
Deprospo also said he hopes to learn how young leaders can help shape global policies that young leaders can help shape global policies that benefit the U.S.-China relationship.
“I believe the Schwarzman Scholars program can create a network of future leaders from countries all around the world, where we can learn from one another and create lifelong relationships,” DeProspo said.
Schoen, the third Cornell recipient, studied economics and engineering and also created the Cornell Venture Capital club during his time as an undergraduate. He currently works as a venture capitalist at New Enterprise Associates.
SCHOEN ’12
Schoen said he hopes to use the Schwarzman scholarship to get to know the leaders of influential Chinese technology companies and understand the Chinese technology business ecosystem while in Beijing.
After Cornell, he worked as an analyst at Blackstone — an asset management and advisory firm — where he met Stephen Schwarzman, the founder and CEO of Blackstone Group and the founder of the Schwarzman Scholarship program.