Originally from Hermiston, Oregon, the United States, Salma Nailea Anguiano graduated cum laude from Whitman College, earning a bachelor's degree with honors in Politics and Chinese. At Whitman, she was elected the first Latina student body president in the college’s history and served in various leadership roles. Growing up in a migrant working community, Salma has used her academic pursuits to research migrant workers’ experiences in the Persian Gulf, China, and the U.S. Inspired by her father, who was injured in a work accident, Salma founded Protejiendo Nuestras Raíces, working on policy initiatives to address hazardous working conditions and inequities within the workers' compensation system and advocating for undocumented and migrant workers in the U.S. Salma graduated from Tsinghua University as a Schwarzman Scholar 2023. She hopes to continue researching migrant workers, the Hukou system, spatial governance, and labor conditions in China as a Yenching Scholar.

Originally from Istanbul, Türkiye, Altan Erdem Aras graduated from Boğaziçi University with a Bachelor´s in Political Science and International Relations. While studying in Türkiye and Germany, Erdem participated in three research projects on urban politics and urbanization, gaining insights into the operations of the Istanbul municipality. Erdem took Chinese history courses from the Asian Studies Centre and Chinese language courses from the Confucius Centre at their university. With a strong interest in comparative politics, Erdem seeks to integrate his knowledge of local governance, political science, and international relations with his fascination for China to further explore and compare urbanization processes in changing global contexts. Erdem wants to learn Chinese and pursue a PhD on top of what he will have built at Yenching Academy.

Originally from Tokyo, Japan, Nozomi received a B.A. in the Regional Studies of Asia with a minor in Western philosophy from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. During her undergraduate study, she interned for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) Washington, D.C., Bureau and the Center for Strategic International Studies Japan Chair. At Yenching Academy, she plans to pursue a Literature and Culture concentration to study political and intellectual debates of early twentieth-century China around the time of the New Culture Movement. She is particularly interested in investigating the transcontinental flow of ideas and cultures between China, Japan, and the West, and understanding Chinese modernity to bring Chinese political thought into conversation with Western thought.

Sama Aziz graduated Summa Cum Laude from San Diego State University in 2022 with a B.A. in Economics and German. She has extensive international experience, including studying abroad in Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange scholarship in 2017/18, and interning in Germany and the UAE. In California, she was a precinct captain for the American Civil Liberties Union’s immigration team, and is a current research affiliate at SDSU’s Center for Health Economics and Policy Studies. Growing up Arab-American and spending time in the Middle East, Sama developed a strong interest in emerging global ties beyond the US. Learning about China from Arab and Western perspectives led her to consider the changing roles of China and the US in globalization. At Yenching Academy, Sama hopes to study the revival of Sino-MENA economic trade and connectivity routes and add a fifth language to her belt.

Oliver is an Oxford graduate whose academic interests span everything from political theory to sustainability in capital markets. Oliver’s preoccupation with China, beyond the voracious consumption of The Economist and SCMP articles, grew by studying the politics of China as an undergrad. Oliver’s B.A. thesis explored populism through a phenomenological lens of Bataille, comparing it to an earlier account by Ernesto Laclau that utilized linguistic post-structuralism. Previously, Oliver researched the relationship between interpersonal trust and the quality of governance, using data science methods to validate Foucault’s notion of the “microphysics of power”. After graduating, Oliver took the opportunity to indulge in various hobbies, including writing, running, drawing, photography, playing the piano, and, particularly, traveling. Oliver is keen to develop a career that supports sustainability in some capacity. Ideally, one that allows Oliver to continue living as a digital nomad forever! Oliver looks forward to many opportunities at Yenching Academy.

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Originally from Seattle, Washington, Owen Bernstein received a B.A. from Harvard University in 2023, concentrating in Government and Data Science and minoring in East Asian Studies. His undergraduate experience led him to engage in research projects on distributive economics, international trade, and entrepreneurs’ access to capital. Owen's passion for East Asia and Mandarin Chinese is traceable to his high school years when he was opportune to live in Xi'an for three months, immersing in the local culture, studying Mandarin, and exploring the city and country. Beyond his academic pursuits, Owen spent three years as a Harvard Institute of Politics’ Policy Program member and dedicated four years to the Harvard ultimate frisbee team. At Yenching Academy, he hopes to continue improving his Mandarin and study Chinese law and society.

Zachary Black graduated from Yale University in May 2023 with majors in Global Affairs and East Asian Studies. His story began in Iowa, where he volunteered for political campaigns, offering him an early perspective into matters of importance to the United States and the globe. Thanks to the Yale Light Fellowship, Zach studied Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing and Taiwan University in Taipei, where he interned at a business and consulting law firm. Upon returning to Yale, Zachary took on the role of president at European Horizons, a student-run think tank, and interned in Spain at one of Europe’s top think tanks, Elcano Royal Institute, in the summer. He also interned for the U.S. State Department researching China-Europe relations. At Yenching, Zach is pursuing the Politics and International Relations track, plans to focus his studies on better understanding how China views its relationship with the Global South.

Benjamin Bullock is from Stourbridge, England. He received his B.A. in 2023 from Wabash College in Indiana, United States, where he majored in History and Humanities (Asian Studies). Benjamin’s research focuses on Chinese labor history in the 1920s and 30s, with a particular emphasis on the history of trade unions and worker organizations. He started learning Chinese at university. In spring 2022, he studied in Vladivostok, Russia, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where he took classes in Russian language and Central Asian politics. In his spare time, Benjamin has served as sports editor of his college newspaper and sung in several choirs.

Camille Chabot graduated from UC Berkeley majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Chinese Language and Human Rights. Originally from France, Camille's interest in China began at 11 when she started learning Mandarin Chinese, becoming fascinated by Chinese culture and politics. She has since continued studying Mandarin and Chinese culture, forging long-lasting friendships with her classmates. Camille is passionate about international law and social justice. As a Law and Society student at Yenching Academy, Camille plans to study the impact of the end of the one-child policy on girls' education in China. Her eventual goal is to become an international human rights lawyer and become a bridge between the French, the American, and the Chinese perspectives in international courts.