Two Yale College seniors and three recent 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.
Yale College seniors Anne-Amélie Campant and Rolando Kattan Rubi, as well as recent graduates Yilin Chen ’23, Sharon Li ’20, and Mary Clare McMahon ’21, 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.
Brief profiles of the five newest Schwarzman Scholars from Yale follow:
Anne-Amélie Campant
Anne-Amélie Campant, a British-French dual national, is a senior at Yale pursuing a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering (ABET) and an energy studies certificate. At Yale, she has conducted research with Gary Brudvig, a professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute, and Menachem Elimelech, former Sterling Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering (who is now at Rice University). Through her laboratory projects in artificial photosynthesis and membrane separations, she honed her technical skills and proficiency in the critical minerals industry. She has also worked at Osmoses Inc., a gas separations startup, and Tesla Inc. With Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 team, she led the process optimization and launch of two critical systems in the company’s inaugural water and chemical plant. In 2023-24, she served as president of Yale European Horizons, launching Yale’s European Symposium, which addressed EU-U.S.-China relations from the perspective of nuclear security, mineral supply chains, and government relations. That same year she led the twice international award-winning Yale Society of Women Engineers, championing STEM education for women within and beyond New Haven. As a Schwarzman Scholar, she will address geopolitical challenges from the perspective of the global energy industry and the role of technology in shaping a multipolar world order, at Tsinghua University.
Rolando Kattan Rubi
Rolando Kattan Rubi, born and raised in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, is committed to promoting global justice and peace. At Yale, he is pursuing a double major in political science and comparative literature, focusing his studies on Thomas Hobbes’ concept of political representation. He served as president of the Yale International Relations Association, leading an effort to start five new international conferences, doubling the organization’s global impact, profit margin, and total financial aid awarded to students worldwide. In 2023, he was granted the Davis Project for Peace Fellowship, which he used to advance a bill seeking to expand menstrual rights in the Honduran Congress. He has worked for several multilateral bodies, including the United Nations, the United Nations Development Program, and the Organization of American States’ Peace Mission in Colombia. As a Schwarzman Scholar, he said, he aims to continue to develop as a thinker and global citizen striving to effect a positive change in the world.
Yilin Chen
Yilin Chen ’23, 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.
Sharon Li
Sharon Li ’20 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.
Mary Clare McMahon
Mary Clare McMahon ’21 graduated from Yale with a degree in history and earned a certificate in Chinese and American studies from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, supported by Yale’s Richard U. Light Fellowship for the study of Mandarin Chinese. Her professional work in the National Security and Cybercrime section in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York has brought her face-to-face with the challenges of enforcing the law in cases where technology, national security, and international relations intersect.