Yang was part of the first cohort of students to earn a B.S. in global business at the University’s Lincoln Center campus. She pursued a concentration in global finance and business economics and a second major, in interdisciplinary math and economics.

Yang also co-founded the Consulting Club at Fordham, after noticing a gender gap in the finance world. According to Forbes, women’s global representation on executive committees is only 20%. The club gave Gabelli students, many of them women, a chance to learn from each other and industry experts about “the problem-solving skills needed to effectively pair creativity and opportunity in the consulting world,” Yang said.

As a student, Yang worked as an investment banking analyst at Morgan Stanley and CIBC Capital Markets, and she is currently a partner and head of advisory services at the financial advising firm Coefficient Partners. Yang is best known for her blockchain startup IconFashion, which she calls a “dress-up game” for users’ NFT avatars—non-fungible tokens that serve as unique digital identifiers. Like the Fordham Consulting Club, which Yang called “the root of [her]entrepreneurship,” IconFashion came out of a lack of female representation, this time in the cryptocurrency and NFT spaces.

A Unique—and Selective—Program

“It’s something very unique,” Yang said about the Schwarzman program, which had over 3,000 applicants this year. “It’s a very small class—about 150 people this year—and from all different backgrounds.”

Lorna Ronald, Ph.D., director of Fordham’s Office of Prestigious Fellowships, described the Schwarzman award as “the scholarship for studying in China.”

“They’re really intentional about building a leadership community and having the cohort learn from each other,” she said.

One of the goals of the Schwarzman Scholars program is to “build a global network of young leaders that are prepared to confront the pressing challenges facing the world,” according to the press release announcing the Class of 2023–2024. “Scholars are selected based on their leadership qualities and the potential to understand and bridge cultural and political differences.”

Preparation, Research, and Self-Reflection in the Application Process

For Yang, the second Fordham student to be accepted to the program since Ran Niu, GABELLI ’16, the Schwarzman Scholarship will be an opportunity to deepen her knowledge of global affairs, to collaborate with students from diverse backgrounds, and to discover innovative ways to continue growing her business. Going through the application process, she said, “gave me a chance to take the time and connect the dots between school, work, my business, and what I want for my future.”

Yang’s experience with the application process echoes what Ronald told Fordham News in November, when she said that applying for prestigious awards gives students and alumni “a beautiful opportunity to think about [themselves]and [their]place in the world.” She said she encourages students to apply early in their undergraduate years, as a way to help clarify and pursue their academic and career goals. The office supports all students and alumni interested in applying for prestigious fellowships, like the Schwarzman Scholarship.

As for Yang, Ronald said, “Cheryl is really incredible. She is very, very thoughtful and deliberate about her path. She sees a situation that’s out of whack, and she says, ‘What can I do about it?’”

Yang encouraged Fordham students and alumni thinking about pursuing prestigious fellowships to become as knowledgeable as possible about the opportunities that are best for them.

“Do your own research, and talk to people who have been through the application process,” she said. “Each scholarship process is different. Find the one that really fits your own needs, and then prepare and research.”

In August, she will enroll at Schwarzman College, a new institution that is part of Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University, with the goal of earning a master’s degree in global affairs.

Niu, who is living in Shanghai and working with the social entrepreneurship competition “China Thinks Big,” called the opportunity a “dream come true.” She said working in international affairs has long been her goal, and having interned in United Nations’ Regional Commissions New York Office, she was considering another internship at the United Nations when she received word that she’d won a Schwarzman Scholarship.

“I was attracted by its vision of ‘global leadership for the 21st century.’ As an international student who has studied and worked in New York City, I feel connected to this global vision,” she said.

Niu also said she hopes that studying at Tsinghua—which counts among its alumni many of  China’s top political and business leaders—will help her understand her home country.

“I see myself as the product of both the Chinese and U.S. educational systems, having spent my high school and college years in China and then the majority of my post high-school years in the states,” she said.

Rob Garris, global director of admissions for the Schwarzman Foundation, said its hope is that the knowledge and relationships that students such as Niu develop during their time at Schwarzman College will bear fruit decades later.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure that all around the world, the next group of business, political, and nonprofit leaders have a deep knowledge of China and the role that it is playing in the world, and have strong professional contacts with their peers there,” he said.

“When they become leaders, they can use their positions to help ensure there is a good flow of information between China and the rest of the world, and that relationships are peaceful and prosperous.”

Garris said that Schwarzman scholars were chosen based on their having demonstrated initiative, an ability to recruit others to sign onto their projects, and a record of persisting in the face of obstacles.

“Creating change in any sort of system, whether it’s a political system, a business system, or the nonprofit world, is always going to encounter resistance,” he said. “So we ask candidates to give us tangible examples of when they’ve encountered that resistance, solved it, and pushed past it.”

Currently in her fifth year of working for the Harvard College Association for U.S.-China Relations, Niu has played a leadership role in designing content that promotes transitional dialogue between young leaders of China and the United States. She interned at the U.N. Regional Commissions New York Office, under the Economic and Social Council.

She said her long-term aspiration is to build incubators that enhance culture and business exchanges among countries, a goal that has been made possible from her time at Fordham. Gabelli School of Business adjunct professor Anthony Palma, and Fordham School of Law adjunct professor Carole L. Basri helped her apply for the scholarship, and living in New York City provided opportunities to listen and learn from influential industry leaders.