In Review: Schwarzman Scholars

Lea Thome ’22, an international relations and political science double major in the College, and Haosong Zheng ’21, a master’s degree candidate in business analytics at the Simon Business School, are among 151 students and young leaders worldwide chosen in December as 2022–23 Schwarzman Scholars.

Lea Thome

Established by investor and philanthropist Steven Schwarzman in 2015, the program aims to prepare future leaders for a global landscape in which China plays a pivotal role. Nearly 3,000 applicants competed for admission to the program this year.

Haosong Zheng

Scholars spend a year in China within an international community of thinkers and leaders in business, politics, and society. They pursue master’s degrees in global affairs (in English), study Chinese language, and have access to internships, personalized mentorship, high-profile speakers, field-based seminars, and travel to different regions of China.

Thome is from Duisburg, Germany, and will be the first person in her family to earn a college degree. As a high school student at a leadership academy in Bratislava, Slovakia, Thome interned at the Slovak Parliament, participated in Model European Parliament Slovakia, and went on a three-month cultural exchange program in Wuhan, China.

During the first year of the pandemic, Thome launched an advocacy campaign, International Student Action, to help overturn a Department of Homeland Security rule that threatened the ability of international students to remain in the United States if their courses were taught remotely.

Zheng is from Beijing, China. While he was an undergraduate with a dual major in business and data science, he established himself as a leader in cultural exchange, the arts, and finance.

As president of the University’s chapter of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, Zheng carved a new role for the group by conducting conferences in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing to help strengthen the University’s Chinese alumni network.

He brought that same leadership to the Chinese Drama Club, where, as director of the 40-person organization, he grew audiences while simultaneously directing and performing in multiple club productions.