Two alumni from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) — Nick Wu ’19 and Josh Heupel MPA ’25 — have been named Knight-Hennessy Scholars. Scholars receive up to three years of funding toward a graduate degree at Stanford University.

Wu and Heupel join other Princeton University recipients, including Class of 2025 members Gil Joseph and Sabrina Nicacio, Class of 2021 member Jimin Kang, and Class of 2019 member Mikaela Gerwin. They will join a cohort of 84 scholars from around the world. The fellowship program develops “emerging leaders who have a commitment to the greater good and the tools needed to drive meaningful change,” according to the announcement.

“I’m so excited for Nick and Josh to receive this award,” said Princeton SPIA Dean Amaney Jamal. “On top of being wonderful graduates of our School, both are working to make a difference in today’s world. I’m very excited to see what their futures hold.”

Josh Heupel, from Le Grand, California, will pursue a Ph.D. in environmental social sciences at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. He graduated from Princeton with a master’s in public affairs degree from the School of Public and International Affairs. His research focuses on water governance in California’s Central Valley, examining how both natural and state-induced water scarcity impacts rural agricultural communities. He co-led the environmental policy associates at Princeton and served as domestic policy co-chair in the policy student government. 
 

Nick Wu, from Richboro, Pennsylvania, will pursue a J.D. at Stanford Law School. He graduated from Princeton with a bachelor’s degree in the School of Public and International Affairs. He was awarded the R.W. van de Velde Award for outstanding junior independent work. For the past three years, Wu served as a policy adviser at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He previously worked in management consulting at Bain & Co. and served as a strategy and analytics extern at Rethink Food.