Chinonso Anyanwu came one step closer to his goal of connecting the world of “finance bros” and social entrepreneurs when he was awarded a prestigious Schwarzman Scholarship to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
“I’m trying to bridge that gap as best I can,’’ says Anyanwu, a fourth-year student at Rutgers-Newark and double major in Finance and Economics. “It’s been transformative seeing finance from a lens that focuses on how it can have a more collective, shared value.’’
Anyanwu is building a startup that uses AI to help young people from all backgrounds gain financial literacy and job skills. He believes learning about the Chinese economy is crucial for leaders and entrepreneurs, especially if they plan to have a worldwide reach.
“The relationship between the U.S. and China is important to understand,’’ said Anyanwu, who grew up in Bloomfield. “I know I’ll be dealing with China in some capacity some day.’’
Anyanwu, also a student in the Honors Living Learning Community, was chosen from a field of nearly 5,000 applicants worldwide for the Schwarzman program, which will allow him to meet with global leaders in politics, business and philanthropy. The 150 Scholars represent 38 countries and 105 universities from around the world, including two scholars from Rutgers-New Brunswick and Rutgers-Camden.
As a Rutgers-Newark student, Anyanwu began building his company, Synergy, after spotting a need for youth to learn more about professional development and mental health. “It’s separate pieces of a young person’s life coming together for a greater purpose,’’ he said.
The project was partially inspired by a survey revealing 60 percent of employers fired Gen Z workers within their first year on the job–a sign that they could use some help, said Anyanwu, who read the news in Forbes magazine.
“The rates are record high and I wanted to know why. I think it has to do with a lack of purpose and direction. I wanted to be able to bring in more resources that would help them explore these things,’’ he said.
Last spring, the idea won him a fellowship from The Resolution Project, a global non-profit that supports and mentors budding entrepreneurs who hope to improve their communities.
Anyanwu’s drive to make knowledge and networks more accessible is rooted in his childhood as the son of Nigerian immigrants struggling to get by in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Located between Newark and the suburbs of Glen Ridge, it gave him a perspective on disparities that existed between the two.
“I got a good sense of the contrast when it comes to quality of life, education, health, and economics,’’ he said.
In elementary school, Anyanwu joined the basketball team, in part because he wanted to fit in with classmates.
“Being Nigerian, people immediately said my name was too difficult to pronounce. It would always make me stand out in the roll call for class, for group projects,’’ he remembered. “Being an athlete gave me some comfort. It was a source of stability. It gave me a sense of identity.’’’
Anyanwu became a star player in Bloomfield and joined the Rutgers-Newark team with plans to become a professional athlete. That changed when he was sidelined by a knee injury freshman year.
“That almost shattered my life. I had to start thinking about what I would do when the ball stopped bouncing,’’ he said. “But it was a divine thing that I got injured. I was able to reflect and ruminate and focus on new ambitions.’’
He remained on the team even though he couldn't play that year, adopting a supportive role to motivate teammates. “We went on to win a championship and I learned you can lead in different ways,’’ he said.
His sophomore year, Anyanwu founded the Black Professionals Network at Rutgers-Newark with the goal of fostering professional development and connecting students across disciplines. It now has 200 members, including about 50 who are Rutgers-Newark alumni.
That summer he interned at The Baupost Group, a prominent hedge fund located in Boston, which he says transformed his perspective on capital and growth.
Last year, he also served as an intern in Sen. Cory Booker’s office, working with constituents and helping congressional staffers with cases involving immigration, Social Security, and other issues.
He’s looking forward to learning about the interplay between China’s status and influence as a global power and its domestic economy.
“Within 40 years, they were able to lift 800 million people out of poverty, statistics that have been cited by the World Bank,’’ he said. “That doesn’t mean there’s no more inequality, but it lifted them out of utter destitution into the lower class.”
He wants to explore what aspects of Chinese culture can be transferred to help Americans.
“There is a community aspect to things that’s different from America, where we’re sometimes very individualized. Those were the principles that we were founded upon. But I think there’s space for us to maintain that, have a free market economy, and be more inclusive when it comes to wealth and opportunity,’’ he said.
