Congratulations to LEDA Career Fellow Salma on being named a 2022-2023 Schwarzman Scholar!
The Schwarzman Scholars program provides a graduate fellowship on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. This class of Schwarzman Scholars, representing 33 countries, are young leaders with a commitment to fostering peaceful and prosperous relations with China.
Originally from Hermiston, OR, Salma is a senior at Whitman College majoring in Politics and Chinese Language with a concentration in Global Studies. Salma is a 2019 Career Fellow and worked with the LEDA Career and Alumni Services team to prepare her application for the Schwarzman Scholars program. She studied abroad in China during the summer of 2019 and knew she wanted to return. Later that summer during the LEDA Career Institute, she attended a presentation on Schwarzman and instantly knew that this could be her opportunity. As a low-income student, the resources provided by Schwarzman are particularly exciting. Salma says, “I did not want to attend a program in which I would be at a disadvantage to my peers. I wanted to be surrounded by leaders like myself who come from various different backgrounds and can challenge my ways of thinking, so that I can continue to learn.”
Salma is a leader on her campus and in her community. She currently serves as the student body president at Whitman College, and is the first Latina to hold the position in school history. Salma is the founder of Protegiendo Nuestras Raices and has worked on several initiatives to address hazardous working conditions. Salma is also a PPIA fellow and a member of the LEDA Policy Corps. After completing her Masters degree through Schwarzman, Salma plans to continue her education with either a Masters in Public Policy or a Ph.D.
Salma is the first LEDA Career Fellow to be named a Schwarzman Scholar. We are so proud of Salma and celebrate her as she exemplifies our mission of diversifying the future of leadership.
Published December 21, 2021