Schwarzman Class of 2019 includes five Stanford scholars

Five students with Stanford affiliations, including three seniors and two alumni, have won 2019 Schwarzman Scholarships for graduate study at Tsinghua University in Beijing, one of China’s most prestigious universities.

They are among the 142 scholars from 39 countries who were named 2019 Schwarzman Scholars, which accepted its first class in 2016. The new class will begin master’s degree studies in August 2018.

The scholarship program is designed to ensure that the next generation of business, political and civil society leaders can effectively serve as bridges between China and the rest of the world. Each Schwarzman Scholar earns a one-year master’s degree in global affairs with a focus in one of three disciplines: public policy, economics and business, or international studies. The 2019 Schwarzman Scholars with Stanford affiliations follow.

Claire Colberg, 25, earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations in 2014, graduating with honors in international security as part of the Center for International Security and Cooperation Honors Program. Her honors thesis was titled, Catching Fish with Two Hands: Vietnam’s Hedging Strategy Towards China. She minored in modern languages – French, Spanish and Mandarin.

Currently, Colberg is a junior engagement manager in the San Francisco office of McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm. She is a board member of the Mongolian Young Scholars Program, an organization that brings together high-achieving Mongolian high school students for an intensive academic summer program in Ulaan Baaatar – a program she led throughout her undergraduate years.

At Stanford, Colberg was also involved as a leader with student groups, including Stanford Model United Nations and the Stanford-U.S. Russia Forum.

She is passionate about becoming a leader in U.S.-China relations, working to promote a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries in the next decade.

Daniel Kilimnik, 23, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and in history in 2016, and graduated with honors in international security studies as part of the Center for International Security and Cooperation Honors Program. His honors thesis was titled, Speaking Daggers, but Using None – the Evolving Role of the Armed Forces in German Security Policy.

Currently, Kilimnik is working as a business analyst with McKinsey & Company in New York City, where he has advised a range of media, manufacturing and financial services clients on questions of strategy.

At Stanford, Kilimnik served as co-president of the Stanford Association for International Development, a student organization dedicated to promoting international development awareness on campus. He also co-led the European Association at Stanford.

After graduating, he spent the summer riding the Trans-Siberian Railway from Helsinki to Beijing with friends.

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Kilimnik hopes to study the future of Europe-U.S.-China relations in the 21st century.

Lucienne “Lucy” Oyer, 21, of Menlo Park, California, is a senior majoring in economics. Oyer, who is completing an honor’s thesis on Chinese overseas infrastructure development, was awarded a Stanford research grant to conduct fieldwork on Chinese power investment in Ghana for the project.

Last summer, Oyer worked in infrastructure investment banking at Goldman Sachs in Los Angeles.

During the summer of 2016, she worked as an intern at the Environment, Health, Science, and Technology Section of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

At Stanford, she is the vice-chair of fellowships and stipends of Stanford in Government, a nonpartisan, student-led affiliate of the Haas Center for Public Service.

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Oyer hopes to take advantage of an internship at a leading Chinese company and to travel outside Beijing to the factories and production sites that have driven China’s economic growth.

Jason Ku Wang, 21, of South Pasadena, California, is a senior majoring in mathematical and computational science, with minors in biology and digital humanities.

He is an honors student in the interdisciplinary Program in Science, Technology, and Society.

Wang co-founded Health++, Stanford’s annual healthcare hackathon, which brings together students across medicine, engineering, business and design to tackle unmet clinical needs for low-resource settings.

He said seeing Health++ from idea to fruition reaffirmed his goal to enter medicine as a physician technologist who can foster dialogue and break down barriers between disciplines.

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Wang hopes to explore how societal norms and government policies perpetuate health care inequality, with the ultimate goal of leveraging emerging advancements in artificial intelligence to improve health care access.

Christopher Yuan, 21, of Cary, North Carolina, is a senior majoring in computer science, with a focus on computer systems and artificial intelligence.

As president of the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students, Yuan managed a team of 120 students on 14 teams to bring entrepreneurial education and experiences to more than 5,000 Stanford students and alumni.

He believes that entrepreneurs will quickly drive advancements in artificial intelligence and automation that reshape global political and social structures.

As a Schwarzman Scholar, Yuan hopes to learn how governments can effectively work with industry leaders to guide advancements in technology for the benefit of humankind.

If students are interested in learning more about the Schwarzman Scholarships – or if Stanford faculty and staff wish to nominate students – they should contact Diane Murk, manager of the Overseas Resource Center, at dmurk@stanford.edu; or John Pearson, director emeritus of the Bechtel International Center, at john.pearson@stanford.edu.