Issa Mudashiru Named A 2025-2026 Schwarzman Scholar
January 15, 2025 | Men's Soccer
PRINCETON, N.J. – Senior captain Issa Mudashiru was named a 2025-2026 Schwarzman Scholar, as announced on Wednesday. As a recipient of the prestigious scholarship, Mudashiru will attend a one-year, fully funded master's degree program in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Mudashiru is one of just three Princeton students and 150 students globally to be accepted to the 2025-26 scholarship class. This year's Schwarzman Scholars represent 38 countries and 105 universities, according to the program's announcement.
Mudashiru, a native of Bethesda, Maryland, is an anthropology major pursuing minors in East Asian studies and in global health and health policy.
As co-captain of the men's soccer team, Mudashiru was a leader for the Tigers on and off the field. Over his career, Mudashiru was a dependable and consistent force along the Princeton back line. In 2024, the center-back appeared in 13 matches, logging 637 minutes and scoring a brace against Seton Hall.
"I'm feeling nothing but gratitude for the coaching staff and all of my teammates over the years for their constant support and encouragement to pursue what brings me joy on and off the field," said Mudashiru.
Despite his strong influence on the pitch, Mudashiru's impact was really evident in his involvements beyond the team. On campus, Mudashiru is a Student Athlete Wellness Leader, participates in the Princeton Varsity Club's volunteer programs Johnson Park TigerPals and Reading with the Tigers, and he is a mentor with the Princeton University Mentorship Program, which helps first year students of color get acclimated to campus with the regular support of an upperclassman student of color.
Mudashiru was also vice president of the Black Premedical Society, volunteered at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and shadowed surgeons at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Georgetown University Hospital, and Metro Orthopedics and Sports Therapy in Potomac, Maryland. He is also a member of Rockefeller College and was a student intern with the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.
"I know I speak for everyone affiliated with Princeton Soccer when I say we can't be happier for Issa, nor can we think of a more deserving recipient of a Schwarzman Scholarship," said Head Coach Jim Barlow. "He has been an incredible teammate, leader, friend, and role model for all of us, and we've been amazed at how he can do so many things so well at once. "
In the summer of 2024, Mudashiru conducted ethnographic field research for his senior thesis in Sierra Leone at the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital and Koidu Government Hospital-Partners in Health. There, he studied the sociocultural and historical context that has led to the proliferation of the "friendship" brand in current Sino-Sierra Leonean and general Sino-African relations, while breaking down how the daily happenings within and around the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital serve as a microcosm for the state of foreign investment in Sierra Leone's struggling health system.
For his academic work, Mudashiru was named one of just six '25 members of the prestigious Global Health Scholars program through Princeton's Center of Health and Wellbeing. Through the program, he received special advising and support on his global health related independent work, including full funding for his field work in Sierra Leone last summer. His work will culminate into an ethnography, which Mudashiru will write as his senior thesis.
Following graduation from Princeton, Mudashiru will now be obtaining his master's degree with the scholarship, which he eventually hopes to build upon with a Md-PHd in medical anthropology in the future.
Mudashiru aspires to pursue a career in surgery while leading collaboration efforts between Chinese, Western, and African stakeholders to innovate healthcare systems in Sierra Leone, the nation of his maternal ancestry, and across Africa.
Mudashiru is now the second Princeton men's soccer player to be named a Schwarzman Scholar in the last two years, with Benjamin Bograd '23 earning the scholarship in 2023. Like Mudashiru, Bograd made significant contributions both athletically and within the Princeton community, and went on to work in public service following his time with the Schwarzman fellowship.
"Recent Princeton Soccer and Schwarzman Scholar alum Ben Bograd '23 had a great experience pursuing his studies in China, and we know that Issa will also make the most of this unique opportunity," Barlow added. "We wish him the best and thank him for all he has done for Princeton both on and off the field."
Mudashiru is one of just three Princeton students and 150 students globally to be accepted to the 2025-26 scholarship class. This year's Schwarzman Scholars represent 38 countries and 105 universities, according to the program's announcement.
Mudashiru, a native of Bethesda, Maryland, is an anthropology major pursuing minors in East Asian studies and in global health and health policy.
As co-captain of the men's soccer team, Mudashiru was a leader for the Tigers on and off the field. Over his career, Mudashiru was a dependable and consistent force along the Princeton back line. In 2024, the center-back appeared in 13 matches, logging 637 minutes and scoring a brace against Seton Hall.
"I'm feeling nothing but gratitude for the coaching staff and all of my teammates over the years for their constant support and encouragement to pursue what brings me joy on and off the field," said Mudashiru.
Despite his strong influence on the pitch, Mudashiru's impact was really evident in his involvements beyond the team. On campus, Mudashiru is a Student Athlete Wellness Leader, participates in the Princeton Varsity Club's volunteer programs Johnson Park TigerPals and Reading with the Tigers, and he is a mentor with the Princeton University Mentorship Program, which helps first year students of color get acclimated to campus with the regular support of an upperclassman student of color.
Mudashiru was also vice president of the Black Premedical Society, volunteered at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and shadowed surgeons at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Georgetown University Hospital, and Metro Orthopedics and Sports Therapy in Potomac, Maryland. He is also a member of Rockefeller College and was a student intern with the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.
"I know I speak for everyone affiliated with Princeton Soccer when I say we can't be happier for Issa, nor can we think of a more deserving recipient of a Schwarzman Scholarship," said Head Coach Jim Barlow. "He has been an incredible teammate, leader, friend, and role model for all of us, and we've been amazed at how he can do so many things so well at once. "
In the summer of 2024, Mudashiru conducted ethnographic field research for his senior thesis in Sierra Leone at the Sierra Leone-China Friendship Hospital and Koidu Government Hospital-Partners in Health. There, he studied the sociocultural and historical context that has led to the proliferation of the "friendship" brand in current Sino-Sierra Leonean and general Sino-African relations, while breaking down how the daily happenings within and around the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital serve as a microcosm for the state of foreign investment in Sierra Leone's struggling health system.
For his academic work, Mudashiru was named one of just six '25 members of the prestigious Global Health Scholars program through Princeton's Center of Health and Wellbeing. Through the program, he received special advising and support on his global health related independent work, including full funding for his field work in Sierra Leone last summer. His work will culminate into an ethnography, which Mudashiru will write as his senior thesis.
Following graduation from Princeton, Mudashiru will now be obtaining his master's degree with the scholarship, which he eventually hopes to build upon with a Md-PHd in medical anthropology in the future.
Mudashiru aspires to pursue a career in surgery while leading collaboration efforts between Chinese, Western, and African stakeholders to innovate healthcare systems in Sierra Leone, the nation of his maternal ancestry, and across Africa.
Mudashiru is now the second Princeton men's soccer player to be named a Schwarzman Scholar in the last two years, with Benjamin Bograd '23 earning the scholarship in 2023. Like Mudashiru, Bograd made significant contributions both athletically and within the Princeton community, and went on to work in public service following his time with the Schwarzman fellowship.
"Recent Princeton Soccer and Schwarzman Scholar alum Ben Bograd '23 had a great experience pursuing his studies in China, and we know that Issa will also make the most of this unique opportunity," Barlow added. "We wish him the best and thank him for all he has done for Princeton both on and off the field."
Players Mentioned
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