Opeyemi Awe ’15 Named Schwarzman Scholar
Former Student Government Association President and Thomas J. Watson Fellow Opeyemi “Ope” Awe ’15 has been named a Class of 2020 Schwarzman Scholar to pursue graduate study in global affairs through Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Awe is one of 147 members of the fourth class of scholars chosen for this highly selective program because they have demonstrated exemplary leadership qualities and the potential to bridge and understand cultural and political differences.
Awe, originally from Nigeria and later Germantown, Maryland, studied international affairs at Grinnell. She made exceptional contributions to the Grinnell student experience as vice-president and president of the Student Government Association and senior intern in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service. Her many honors include Posse Foundation Scholar, Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, and Truman Scholarship Finalist.
In Awe’s senior year, she was selected for the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship and in 2015-16 she traveled to South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, Rwanda, and Kenya to study "Entrepreneurship as Development." After returning to the United States, Awe worked for a year as a research assistant in the President’s Office at Grinnell. She now serves as a federal analyst at Deloitte Consulting in Washington, D.C.
“The Schwarzman Scholars program aims to prepare the next generation of global leaders, and they would be hard pressed to find someone more qualified and prepared to pursue that ambitious goal than Ope,” says Mark Peltz, Daniel and Patricia Jipp Finkelman Dean of Careers, Life, and Service at Grinnell. “She has the brilliance, experience, vision, and conviction to impact the world as a global leader and influencer.”
“Our newest class includes a diverse group of future leaders from around the world. They join a global network of scholars who have committed themselves to being a force for change, regardless of where their professional or personal passions take them,” says Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman of Schwarzman Scholars and co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms.
Advising for the Schwarzman Scholars program is available through Global Fellowships and Awards in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service.