
Jasper Schutt ’24 (photo by Leon Godwin)
Jasper Schutt ’24 has received the prestigious Schwarzman Scholarship to pursue a master’s in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Jasper is among three Tar Heels to be awarded the scholarship this year.
The Schwarzman Scholarship, awarded annually to up to 200 scholars worldwide, offers an opportunity for emerging leaders to engage with China’s growing influence on global politics, economics, and technology. Jasper, who earned a bachelor’s in global studies and interdisciplinary studies with a minor in Chinese from Carolina, will join an international cohort of scholars to explore China’s role in these fields.
Through his studies at Tsinghua University, Jasper hopes to examine how China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates approach international investment treaties. He aims to develop legal frameworks that better serve developing countries, allowing them to retain sovereignty over their economic and political systems.
“At Tsinghua, I plan to study the approach of Emirati, Russian, and Chinese treaty-makers to global investment treaty practice,” Jasper said. “I’m excited to be with an exceptionally diverse group of people from all around the world.”
Jasper attributes his interest in global affairs to a fascination with language, culture, and international relations. Fluent in Arabic, Russian, and Mandarin, he founded and captained the UNC Arabic Debate Team in collaboration with Duke University, leading it to national competitions. Jasper has also been a frequent contributor to BBC News Arabic and Al-Jazeera Arabic, offering his perspectives on American politics and campus protests throughout the American South.
Jasper’s academic journey at UNC–Chapel Hill has also been shaped by his experiences abroad. As a Morehead-Cain Scholar, he spent an International Gap Year in Jordan, where he immersed himself in Arabic language and culture. There, he observed the similarities between the Arab world and the American South, particularly in their shared values of hospitality and faith, which deepened his understanding of both regions. He also studied Russian in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as a Boren Scholar.
“What has driven my studies at Carolina is trying to connect with as many different people as possible, learn their languages, and seek out the connections between my lived experience and theirs,” he said. “The most exciting aspect about going to Tsinghua is being around those people.”
Jasper’s global outlook was also informed by his childhood in San Francisco, where he was surrounded by a vibrant Chinese American community. Many of his friends were Chinese Americans, and Jasper took Mandarin classes in middle school to better connect with them.
“You can’t really understand or write the history of San Francisco without the history of Chinese Americans,” Jasper said. “Learning the language was just so electrifying in a way that when I had opportunities to learn other languages, I already knew the richness of what was in store for me.”
Jasper’s academic and professional aspirations come out of a desire to reform the global economic system through international investment law, he said. His goal is to become an international investment lawyer, advocating for treaties and laws that empower nations to protect their economic interests.
“I want to represent developing countries and reform international laws that would give more power to developing countries in the global economy and allow them to regulate their own affairs,” Jasper said. “I want to play a role in both reforming those kinds of treaties and laws and tip the scales a little bit toward poor countries and countries in the global South.”
Connecting with people from diverse backgrounds has been at the center of Jasper’s journey at Carolina, Morehead-Cain President Chris Bradford said.
“Jasper has an exceptional ability to bridge cultures and forge connections across differences,” Bradford said. “He demonstrates a profound understanding of the power of global collaboration, and we are certain he will make a positive impact among his peers in Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University.”
This year’s cohort, the Schwarzman Scholarship’s tenth class, includes 150 scholars from 38 countries.