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Oxford 1+1 MBA 2021-23 Pershing Square Scholars announced

Published

Pershing Square Scholarship was established in 2014 and supports candidates through both years of the Oxford 1+1 MBA programme.

Serving communities in need of basic healthcare, working towards equitable education systems and fighting pollution are just some of the aims this year’s exceptional Pershing Square Scholars are working on. All Oxford 1+1 MBA students, they have been awarded scholarships by the Pershing Square Foundation.

Established in 2006, the Foundation helps to tackle the world’s most pressing social issues, by supporting innovative leaders and organisations.

The 1+1 MBA launched in 2011 and allows students to combine the Oxford MBA with another Oxford University degree.

Since 2014, The Foundation has worked with Oxford Saïd to award full scholarships to outstanding individuals on the Oxford 1+1 MBA. These scholarships cover costs of Master's degrees from several Oxford University departments, as well as the School's one-year MBA, living expenses, and other education fees.

Successful recipients can also take part in prestigious events throughout the year. Previous opportunities have included the Skoll World Forum, Ditchley Conference, and treks to New York City, hosted by the Foundation, which included access to meetings and workshops.

Six recipients were awarded the Scholarship this year – Natnael Araya Abraham, Ryan Caplin, Sophie Fry, Raffy Maristela, Diego Rojas Arancibia and Isabela Uribe.

Natnael Araya Abraham

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Eritrea, MSc in International Health and Tropical Medicine.

‘Born and raised in Eritrea, a country which has been impacted by war and limited basic resources, I grew up witnessing the problems I had to tackle as a professional later on. A career as a practicing pharmacist, regulator and researcher has taken me on a journey and self-discovery towards improving implementation and its handicapping challenges in healthcare. I want to embark on a social innovation idea that is supported with impact investment to address the gaps in current healthcare, to serve communities that are still struggling for basic healthcare access.’

Ryan Caplin

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United States, MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment.

'I am deeply grateful to study at Oxford for two years with this scholarship. What an opportunity! I get to focus on my favorite topics (garbage and impactful business) and form friendships with good, brilliant people from around the world. I am aware that not many people have the freedom to pursue their passion in this way. I feel responsible to pay it forward and make a difference in individual people's lives because of my experience here.'

Sophie Fry

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United Kingdom, Master of Public Policy.

'The Pershing Square Scholarship gives me a unique opportunity to combine the MBA and Master of Public Policy (MPP). It will provide an invaluable platform for my continued career in public service, working to ensure financial services is a driver for global good and an enabler of solutions to tackle the world's most pressing challenges. I am hugely grateful to the Pershing Square Foundation for this opportunity and the greater contribution it will enable me to make in public policy.'

Raffy Maristela

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United States, MSc in Education (Comparative and International Education).

'I'm grateful for the chance to learn deeply about education systems around the world in my MSc and cultivate skills in scaling systemic impact through my MBA. The Pershing Square Scholarship and the Oxford 1+1 MBA will help me explore and embrace the intersections of the social, public, and private sector and learn from a community that hopes to tackle similar large-scale issues.'

Diego Rojas Arancibia

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Bolivia, Master of Public Policy.

'I am deeply grateful to the Pershing Square Scholarship, as I firmly believe that combining an MPP with an MBA will allow me to create lasting relationships amongst the public sector, academia, and the private sector in my country and region. Moreover, these two years at the best university in the world, being surrounded by some of the most intelligent and socially committed leaders from every region, will give me the opportunity to collaborate on targeting pressing issues in our regions together. There are still huge social, and educational challenges in my home country Bolivia, and in Latin America, I hope to contribute to actively tackling them.'

Isabela Uribe

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Colombia/United States, Master of Public Policy.

'An MBA and MPP will strengthen my understanding of how governments, private companies, and non-profits can partner together to create sustaining impact. Oxford will allow me to understand those partnerships in different international contexts from fellow students coming from across the world. I am very thankful for this opportunity to learn and develop.'

Find out more about the Pershing Square Scholarship