Ted Rogers School alumna Husnaa Zamarai accepted into prestigious Schwarzman Scholars program
Ted Rogers School of Management graduate Husnaa Zamarai is one of only two Canadians selected to join the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars program in China for the Class of 2026-27, chosen for her exceptional leadership and understanding of global affairs.
Schwarzman Scholars (external link, opens in new window) , one of the world’s most esteemed graduate fellowships, is a one-year, fully-funded master’s degree program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. It is the first scholarship of its kind created to respond to the geopolitical landscape of the 21st century and designed to prepare the next generation of global leaders.
For Schwarzman Scholars’ 11th cohort, 150 scholars were selected from just over 5,800 applicants (the highest number of applications in its history), and includes students from 40 countries and 83 universities from around the world. The Scholars are selected through a competitive application process designed to identify leadership potential, intellect and strength of character. Close to 400 candidates were invited to interview in New York and London with panels of CEOs, government leaders, university presidents and non-profit executives, among others.
“Being selected as a Schwarzman Scholar is incredibly meaningful to me,” says Zamarai (Marketing Management ’24). “It represents a culmination of the leadership, academic curiosity and global perspective I developed at the Ted Rogers School, and an opportunity to continue learning how values-driven leadership can create impact on a global scale.”
Zamarai has held strategic roles at the Boston Consulting Group, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Metropolitan University and a tech startup incubator supporting marginalized entrepreneurs.
As a past president of the Ted Rogers Students’ Society (TRSS), Canada’s largest student-elected business association, Zamarai led national, award-winning initiatives addressing challenges like food insecurity, access to professional attire, student space revitalizations and subsidizing course materials. She also created entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs benefiting over 8,000 newcomer women in Toronto. Most recently, Zamarai has worked with NGOs in Morocco, designing income-generating projects and skills training programs for widows and at-risk youth.
Starting in August 2026, Zamarai and the other Schwarzman Scholars in her cohort will engage in a graduate curriculum focused on leadership and global affairs. Tsinghua University is ranked first in Asia as an indispensable base for political, business and technological leadership. The students are taught by leading faculty from Tsinghua, as well as from many globally recognized international universities, and attend lectures delivered by global thought leaders. Scholars gain unique exposure to China through mentoring, internships and experiential learning. In addition, career development is provided to help Scholars excel in various fields upon graduation.
This is not the first time the Ted Rogers School has had a member selected to the Schwarzman Scholars program. In 2020, Business Technology Management student Eric Muellejans was chosen to be part of the Class of 2022.