How ‘Conan the Bacterium’ withstands extreme radiation
December 9, 2024
Northwestern alumna Ruby Scanlon ’22 has been named a 2023 Schwarzman Scholar.
By fully funding a master’s program at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the Schwarzman Scholarship is designed to build a global community of future leaders who will help foster the relationship between China and the rest of the world.
At Northwestern, Scanlon studied international relations and social policy as a Posse First Generation Leadership Scholar in the School of Education and Social Policy. She went on to work at the U.S. State Department's International Organizations Bureau, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Ruby embodies global citizenship,” said Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe, director of Northwestern’s Office of Fellowships. “And she will flourish among her Schwarzman peers who share her commitment to leading nuanced engagements with China in our rapidly changing world.”
Scanlon currently serves as an international antitrust specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice, where she works with international partners on issues ranging from intellectual property to transnational corporate mergers.
“In an increasingly bilateral political landscape, mutual understanding between China and the U.S. will only become more essential to improving and bolstering multilateral institutions,” Scanlon said. “In my career, I want to reshape Washington’s relationship to international organizations in a way that genuinely advances global interests, not just domestic ones.”
A national mock trial and debate champion, Scanlon eventually hopes to serve in the U.S. State Department to help improve how the U.S. leverages international institutions to support developing countries.
“But that work is meaningless without like-minded partners across the U.S. interagency, the private sector, multilaterals and in countries across the world,” she wrote in her application materials. “I think the Schwarzman Scholars program can help me find those like-minded partners.”
Northwestern students interested in pursuing scholarship and fellowship opportunities can contact the Office of Fellowships.
