A Cornell student and two alumni have been named Schwarzman Scholars for the 2026-27 academic year and will spend it in a master’s program in global affairs at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

Qiqi (Kiara) Shan ’26, Ruihao (Ray) Lin, J.D. ’24, and Isaac McCurdy ’21 will be part of the program, established in 2015 with the goal of empowering leaders and bridging cultures. Students live in Beijing for a year of study and cultural immersion, attending lectures, traveling around the region and developing a better understanding of China.

Shan, majoring in psychology and economics, plans to explore sustainable models for improving mental health accessibility during her time in China.

“I hope to develop a more holistic understanding of how China’s mental health system has evolved and where it is headed,” Shan said. “I want to understand how today’s mental health challenges are shaped by broader societal forces such as demographic change and shifting public perceptions, and to explore how cross-sector collaboration can drive systemic change.”

At Cornell, Shan has been involved with research in the lab of Gary Evans, the Elizabeth Lee Vincent Professor of human centered design and psychology in the College of Human Ecology. Shan is also a leader in the Cornell Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

“I am also eager to learn from peers working in fields such as AI and technology,” Shan said, “and to explore how those emerging tools can potentially be applied to improving mental health accessibility and public understanding.”

McCurdy is a U.S. Army infantry officer whose unit specializes in simulating large-scale combat operations to train armored brigades for deployment. At Cornell, he majored in China and Asia Pacific Studies and participated in ROTC.

“The major provided me the flexibility to simultaneously study ancient East Asia, modern Sino-American relations and three foreign languages,” McCurdy said, “and it provided me with a cohort of classmates all fascinated by the same ancient nation.”

Along with polishing his language skills, McCurdy said he’s “thrilled to have the opportunity to combine the hard leadership and management skills I learned during my career in the U.S. Army with the theoretical study of international relations.”

Lin is from China and received an undergraduate degree from Tsinghua University before attending Cornell Law School, where he served as an editor of the Cornell Law Review and the Cornell Legal Information Institute. He has contributed to policy research at the Asian Development Bank and provided pro bono legal support for Afghan nationals navigating resettlement processes.

His academic interests center on global justice, comparative legal systems and cross-border legal collaboration, with a commitment to strengthening international cooperation.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.