Experience
The Laidlaw Leadership and Scholarship Programme exceeded my expectations, in that it offered opportunities for both academic development and personal growth. The first summer of independent research enabled me to hone my technical research and writing skills, in addition to effectively preparing me for other research endeavours through hands-on experience with data collection, coding, and quantitative analysis. Leadership training sessions throughout the year and the LiA project during our second summer enabled me to develop various soft skills and form valuable connections with other scholars in my cohort and at the organization that I completed my LiA project at. The program provided me with many opportunities to reflect, whether it was on my own abilities or on my social position within my area of study. I learned about my ability to adapt to change and overcome barriers and how to handle difficult situations. As a whole, this experience has made me even more interested in pursuing a career in education policy to make education more accessible to students around the world.
Team
In addition to working closely with others within the University of Toronto community, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting other members of the 2024 Laidlaw Cohort at our leadership training sessions and in New York during the Annual Laidlaw Scholars Conference. Hearing about everyone’s projects from vastly different academic disciplines was very inspiring to see, and I learned so much about various issues beyond the policy realm, such as in STEM-oriented fields including Alzheimer's research, period poverty, and cultural adaptation. My LiA also gave me the opportunity to work with students from Germany, Belgium, Mexico, and Vancouver Island, and it was equally rewarding to meet people who were interested in similar fields who were from all over the world. I hope to stay in contact with all of the staff and students I have met through the program to expand my professional network and further discuss our shared interests in the future.
Individual
I have learned that I thrive in collaborative environments and communicate effectively with others. This was exemplified throughout my LiA project, when I was tasked with designing and teaching an extensive English curriculum for Burmese migrants in Thailand; although I had little experience with English teaching and curriculum development, I was able to work in a group setting where we drew from each persons’ individual strengths to create engaging classes, lesson plans, and assessments. However, I also learned that I sometimes struggle with self-guided work, as it can be difficult to stay on track when I do not have strict deadlines or a set structure or framework to follow. Thus, working in a group setting and setting independent goals helped me stay on track and hold myself accountable.
Critical thinking
My independent research helped me develop my technical research and analytical skills. Through my mixed-method study investigating the cross-cultural impacts of different education systems on social mobility, I was able to see how various factors, including cultural values and norms, socioeconomic status, and extracurricular opportunities can have long-lasting impacts on social systems. Although I saw patterns among the three countries that I studied, I recognize that systems can be vastly different, and future studies should therefore be expanded to include more education systems. I hope to investigate this relationship on a deeper level in my future studies, and in turn, be able to implement policy solutions based on my findings.
Translating skills and experiences
I can effectively utilize the skills, knowledge, and experience I gained from the program on a technical level, in addition to the core competencies I developed as a result of the training sessions that we completed. As I am interested in potentially pursuing policy research, I believe the writing and analytical skills I developed will be useful in my future endeavours. Moreover, the soft skills I developed in maintaining the values that were emphasized throughout the program are widely applicable to day-to-day life, including in interactions with diverse cultures and beliefs. My experience in Thailand working with vulnerable populations throughout my LiA has been deeply transformative and has greatly expanded my worldview.
Big picture
I hope to make a tangible impact on the various communities I am a part of; seeing the extent to which people’s lives can differ, and how their experiences shape their beliefs and values has had a profound impact on my approach to understanding how complex global current events can be. Prior to my LiA, I saw policy as the most effective means of implementing effective positive change. Although I still see policy as an effective tool, my time in Thailand has shown me how policies can function as systemic barriers that also limit the work that humanitarian organizations do. This has shown me the value in cooperation between governments, private organizations, and individuals. I hope to contribute to facilitating these connections to best support marginalized populations in my future academic and professional endeavours.