The Ohio State University’s Undergraduate Fellowship Office is proud to announce that Arón Olegnowicz-Cruz (BA ’24, BS ’24) has been selected for the Schwarzman Scholars Class of 2026–27, becoming Ohio State’s second Schwarzman Scholar. He will join 150 Scholars representing 40 countries and 83 universities for a one-year, fully funded master’s degree in global affairs at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
Schwarzman Scholars reported a record-high applicant pool of just over 5,800 candidates for the 2026–27 class, underscoring sustained global interest in studying China and one of the world’s most selective graduate fellowships. With this incoming cohort, the program’s network surpasses 1,500 alumni from 107 countries and 490 institutions.
Olegnowicz-Cruz graduated from Ohio State in 2024 with a BA in Political Science, a BS in Psychology, and minors in Geography, History, Education, and Portuguese. He is the cofounder of Ohio State’s Mexican Student Association and an alumnus of the Morrill Scholarship Program. He currently serves as a Teach for America special education teacher in an urban elementary school and is a two-time Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellow. He has also advocated on Capitol Hill for study abroad fellowships, contributing to the continuation of $85 million in federal funding. Through his passion for education, he has collaborated on projects with the United Nations, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Accenture.
“As both a teacher and a business consultant, I’ve seen how gaps in trust and coordination between institutional actors such as governments and enterprises and local stakeholders like families and educators can hinder the impact of well-intentioned reforms,” Olegnowicz-Cruz said. “I’m especially excited to study how China aligns these diverse yet deeply interdependent groups to continuously strengthen its education ecosystem through public policy, business innovation, and community engagement.”
“When I think about ensuring that the youth inherit a better future, I also think about the inextricable link between geopolitical stability and economic prosperity,” he added. “Through the Schwarzman Scholars program, I expect to deepen my understanding of this relationship and gain the key skills needed to work effectively with global leaders across the public and private sectors to ultimately expand access to education and create sustainable pathways to socioeconomic mobility for young people around the world.”
Undergraduate Fellowship Office staff, Louise Ling Edwards, worked with Olegnowicz-Cruz on his Schwarzman Scholars application. “Arón is a talented multilingual educator who seeks to support his students in all ways: on an individual level creating education plans that fit his students’ needs and on a systemic level as he envisions ways to revolutionize how education works,” said Edwards. “It’s no surprise to me that Schwarzman has named him as a Scholar. I’m so proud of all that he has accomplished, and I’m excited to see the new ideas and connections he will gain in Beijing.”
Founded in 2013 by Stephen A. Schwarzman, Schwarzman Scholars is a one year, fully funded master’s program that prepares future global leaders through a rigorous curriculum focused on leadership, global affairs, and China, taught by leading faculty from Tsinghua University and other international institutions. Beginning August 2026, Scholars will engage in coursework, mentoring, internships, and experiential learning that provide unique exposure to China’s evolving role in the world and robust career development support.