Yanggan Chen and Jin Zhang, two students in the Global MBA/MS in Finance Dual-Degree program at the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College, have each won a $1,500 scholarship for excelling academically and contributing to society through extracurricular activities.

Left to right: Yanggan Chen, Jie Hayes, Jin Zhang

The scholarships are funded by Songbird Capital, an independent financial advisor based in Princeton, N.J. Jie Hayes, a Zicklin alumna (MBA ’99) and the founder and principal of Songbird Capital, created the scholarships in order to honor students with outstanding work both inside and outside the classroom. This is the program’s second year.

Zhang (Remin IMBA candidate of 2017) has a perfect 4.0 GPA and has worked extensively to promote the dual-degree program, especially among students at Renmin University of China, one of Zicklin’s partners for this program. In addition to hosting students from Renmin when they toured Baruch’s campus, Zhang has organized regular get-togethers with other Chinese students at Zicklin to discuss their academic and personal experiences. He also formed a study group for students from across Baruch who are preparing for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam.

Chen, who has a near-perfect GPA of four As and one A minus, is a student mentor at the Baruch Student Academic Consulting Center. Since arriving at Baruch just six months ago, he has participated in several community service projects, from picking up trash on Coney Island, to distributing food and warm clothing at a homeless shelter, to spending time with senior citizens. “I want to set a good example of being both a hardworking and a loving person,” he says.

Hayes launched the Songbird Capital scholarship program two years ago after a tour of the Zicklin Vertical Campus, which did not exist when she was an MBA student here. “I thought, ‘This is a great gift to future generations,’ and I wanted to do something similar,” she says. “In America you have a strong tradition of giving back, and I wanted to encourage Chinese students to do that as well.”

In his short tenure at Baruch, Chen has already visited most of the East Coast, and says he’d like to use his $1,500 prize to travel to the West Coast—“Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco,” he says. Zhang, meanwhile, plans to apply the funds toward the registration fee for the Level 2 CFA exam. “And if I pass Level 2, maybe I’ll register for Level 3,” he adds.

About the Zicklin School of Business

The Zicklin School of Business located in New York City is a recognized leader in providing undergraduate, graduate, and executive education for the 21st century. It offers part- and full-time business degree programs taught by faculty who are thought leaders and practitioners in their fields. An AACSB-accredited business school, Zicklin has developed cutting-edge dual-degree programs with top universities around the world. zicklin.baruch.cuny.edu