If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that applying to the Laidlaw foundation was the best decision I’ve made at university. Through the experiences I’ve had and the friends I’ve made, it has been a transformative journey for me. The highlights that I shall reflect on include my research project, LiA in Greece, and the social events such as the leadership weekend and Dublin conference. All these elements in combination have allowed immense personal growth by exposing me to different types of challenges and expanding my world view. The person I was when I was applying to the programme is a lot less ambitious than the person I am writing this today, which I partly credit to Laidlaw for!

Along the timeline, the leadership weekend away at Cumberland lodge was the first event for me. This was such a special weekend, particularly because it was the first time we spent together properly as a Laidlaw cohort. A lot of the activities would delve deep into what it means to be an ethical leader. My expectations were that it could be trivial and obvious things that I already know. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn a lot from the activities and from discussions with other peers. My main takeaway is that there isn’t an ideal leader or ‘one size fits all’. It’s dependent on the type of person you are, the type of work you’re doing and the people you’re leading. There’s no one way to be an ethical leader.

Shortly after, summer rolled around, and it was already time to do my research project. Mine was lab-based and looked at how two cellular processes are linked, autophagy and calcium signalling, and what their implications were. This was an entirely new kind of leadership for me. My preconceptions of a leader was someone who delegates tasks and sets a goal for the team. Here, I was leading myself and had to take a lot of initiative. It was difficult maintaining the bigger picture of what I was doing and keep a goal in mind, as it was easy to get sucked into the lab work. By constantly linking the individual (sometimes mundane!) tasks I was doing to the global impact my work could be making, was hopefully making me a better global citizen. Being a global citizen doesn’t have to be having several nationalities or living in several places, but can be keeping in mind how the work you’re doing can leave the world a better place.

My last endeavour was the LiA, which I did on the island of Chios in Greece with 2 other volunteers. We volunteered at a warehouse which supports a refugee camp by supplying essential non-food items such as clothes and toiletries. I interacted with many different types of people speaking an array of languages. I learned that ethical leadership involves not only making decisions that benefit the greater good but also doing so with empathy, humility, and a commitment to justice. Witnessing the resilience of refugees reminded me of our shared humanity and the need for inclusive solutions to global issues. It also inspired me to continue volunteering, as I am starting weekly volunteering at a hospital here in London. At the hospital, I will apply these lessons by treating each patient with compassion, advocating for equitable care, and working collaboratively to create an inclusive environment where every patient feels valued, just as I did during my LiA.