African American Studies and Political Science Alumna Sydney Roberts has been awarded a 2026–27 Schwarzman Scholarship. Roberts, a former ASUC president who graduated from Cal in 2024 as a double major in the Berkeley Social Sciences Division, is one of 150 inspiring and innovative leaders selected from a pool of more than 5,800 candidates worldwide — the largest applicant pool in the program’s history. She is Berkeley’s 21st recipient of the award since its founding in 2013.
This fall, Roberts will participate in a one-year, fully funded master’s degree program in Global Affairs at Schwarzman College, which is part of Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The scholarship’s rigorous selection process evaluates leadership, intellect and character, with roughly 400 finalists advancing to interviews with global leaders across sectors — including government, business, technology and academia.
“Being challenged as a leader representing the student body really made me come into my leadership style and find myself as a leader,” Roberts said. “When I saw that this program was all about leadership and learning more about China and U.S. relations, and also international relations, it felt like the perfect fit.”
Roberts served as the ASUC president during her senior year at Cal, a period marked by intense campuswide conversations about the Middle East conflict. She said that the experience influenced how she thinks about leadership, conflict management and diplomacy.
“It was a really intense time when conflict was deeply affecting students,” she said. “I learned a lot about building bridges under pressure and what it means to show up for students. I want to learn more about conflict management and diplomacy, and this program is built around teaching young people how to do that.”
Roberts spent more than a year preparing her Schwarzman application with the support of friends, family and mentors.
“When you invest so much in something and then you finally get positive results back, it feels so gratifying and fulfilling,” Roberts said. “All the people who believed in me throughout the process were very happy, too. All the work we put in was absolutely worth it.”
Roberts credits the guidance of mentors and leaders on campus as pivotal to her selection.
“I’m so grateful to Berkeley,” Roberts said. “The mentors and peers I had here really inspired me to apply. I learned a lot from other campus leaders — including how to keep the community first and center students during difficult times.”
“To me, Sydney stands out because of her remarkable, sustained commitment to public service and her willingness to step into leadership roles,” said Keila Diehl, the national scholarships coordinator for Berkeley’s Office of Undergraduate Research & Scholarships (OURS) (link is external). “She is someone who walks the walk — whether that involves political activism, student government, equity work, or teaching in San Quentin. There’s an unmistakable passion there, which I’m sure came through loud and clear to the Schwarzman selectors in her resume, essays and interview.”
The Schwarzman Program also offers recipients a robust, customizable curriculum focused on China’s role in global affairs, as well as leadership training, cultural immersion and access to the program’s growing alumni network, Diehl said.
Looking ahead, Roberts is excited to deepen her interest in storytelling, diplomacy and global leadership.
“I’m really interested in narrative-building — how you craft a story or campaign around an issue and communicate it to the public,” she said. “Storytelling is core to the Schwarzman Program, and I’m excited to learn from professors who have done this work in high-stakes environments.”
Roberts hopes to attend law school in the future with a focus on international law and mediation and sees the Schwarzman experience as an important foundation for that path. She is also beginning to study Mandarin and looks forward to learning more about China’s culture and role in global affairs.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for students from any discipline, regardless of their level of familiarity with China or the Chinese language, to engage in interdisciplinary study of the country and take that knowledge with them into whatever kind of work they end up doing,” Diehl said.
Roberts offered advice to Berkeley students interested in applying for the Schwarzman Scholarship: “Be authentic and write about what you’re truly passionate about,” she said. “Show your values and how you hope to give back. Planning ahead is really important — create a timeline for yourself and don’t be afraid to reach out to people at Berkeley. I definitely attribute my success to them.”