First Undergraduate Junior Scholars

The McDonnell International Scholars Academy selects Wei Zhang and Madison Hampden as its first undergraduate “Junior Scholars.”

The McDonnell Academy has initiated a “Junior Scholars” program for undergraduate students at Washington University. This program is aimed at students pursuing leadership development activities that involve McDonnell Academy partner institutions in some way. Two students have been selected to inaugurate this program in the spring semester of 2008. Madison Hampden is a junior majoring in Political Science in Arts & Sciences. He is also pursuing a second major in International Business in the Olin School. Wei Zhang is a senior pursuing a Finance major in the Olin Business School and also a minor in Mathematics.

Hampden and Zhang will be enrolled The U.S.-China Bilateral Trade Internship Program at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. This Boeing-sponsored program brings together undergraduates drawn from three U.S. institutions (Washington University, the University Washington in Seattle, and California State University at Long Beach) and undergraduates drawn from three institutions in China (Fudan University, Peking University, and Tsinghua University”all partner institutions in the Academy).

The students in this program take courses together and engage in other joint activities during their semester in Washington, D.C. In addition, each student has an internship experience. Hampden has been placed in the International Trade Administration at the Department of Commerce, and Zhang will be working at the Asia Society.

The McDonnell Academy recruits applicants for this program on the Washington University campus and provides recommendations to The Washington Center. This experiential learning program is scheduled to continue for at least two more years at The Washington Center, with two to four Washington University students to be in each future cohort.