It’s hard to believe that my time as a Laidlaw Scholar is almost over! I’m very grateful to have been part of this extraordinary program; I consider Laidlaw a core part of my undergraduate journey. From the gateway course by Duke’s Hart Leadership Program to the research and Leadership in Action (LIA) summers, each component has pushed me into a deeper examination of my values, ethics, and leadership style. 

As I reflect on these past two years, the first qualities that come to mind are my sense of confidence and autonomy. Or, to align it with the Laidlaw Foundation’s Changemaker Values, my bravery. My research summer was particularly instrumental in honing my bravery. That summer was spent conducting research with a team of Laidlaw Scholars, alongside a whirlwind of travel to Brussels, Paris, London, and Oxford. I had never been to Europe before, and navigating these unfamiliar environments was jarring. I remember walking through the streets of Brussels, our first stop, and feeling waves of jittery excitement and pure delight wash over me. Being pushed into a new environment (especially one where I didn’t speak the language) carried a big learning curve. 

Exploring Paris during my research summer

The most direct takeaway from my research summer travel was that it ultimately left me a tremendously more confident traveler. I felt more sure of myself, including my ability to grapple with unfamiliar settings and figure things out on the fly. But there was also a penumbral effect of the travel that I started to realize later: increased confidence in my instinct as a leader. I felt more willing to bet on my ideas, pursue projects even if I didn’t know how they would pan out, and follow my intuition of what work was especially needed. 

Beyond the travel, my values were also developed by the work I conducted each summer. My research summer examined how the proliferation of AI-generated music was impacting human musicians. My team studied the grim landscape of human musicians being pushed out of revenue and consumer access by a flood of cheap, mimetic AI-generated music. And the next year for my LIA summer, I studied online abuse and deepfake harm, with a focus on how it impacted girls. Both summers’ work felt close to my heart and reaffirmed my commitment to responsible tech and AI ethics. I have long been fascinated by frontier technologies like AI, but have increasingly felt that pursuing innovation alone would not be satisfying to me. Instead, I want to combine frontier tech inquiry with a commitment to ensuring these systems are designed with ethics, safety, and inclusivity in mind. 

One surprising part of my Laidlaw summers was how spontaneous moments also proved insightful. During my LIA summer of gender equity-focused work in San Francisco, one of my colleagues brought me to a Valkyries WNBA game. She explained that this outing would be a way to tap into the joy and possibility of empowering women and girls, amidst our weighty-feeling work on AI-driven online abuse. And how right she was! The Valkyries game was delightful. It was deeply refreshing to find a space where women weren’t scrutinized over minutiae, and instead could simply exist as bold, powerful athletes. The roar of the crowd and shrieks of joy after every three-pointer drowned out everything else. That basketball game reinforced my commitment to gender equity work, and the importance of pushing for girls and women to have spaces where they can simply exist and perform without judgment.

As you may have noticed from this medley of memories, I am grateful for the holistic and eclectic approach that the Laidlaw Foundation takes to developing young leaders. The program provides us with a delicious combination of studying ethical frameworks, personal values reflection, international and domestic travel, and meaningful service work aligned with our interests. The sum of this education, I think, has been a clearer understanding of the concept of “global citizenry.”

To me, being a global citizen means, above all, approaching different cultural practices and ideologies with humility and openness. It’s easy to approach other cultures with the mindset that your own cultural experiences are normative, and everything else is idiosyncratic and foreign. But being a global citizen means shaking off inculcated beliefs and being willing to change your mind when presented with new practices and information. Though, of course, I believe this should be balanced with staying true to the set of ethics and unshakeable values that you hold. 

I also think that global citizenry means recognizing the inherent power imbalances and histories that shape interactions between cultures. I realize that there is a lot of privilege and protection that comes from having the label of “American” behind me, and it’s important to be cognizant of that context when exploring other countries. In summary, global citizenry means an ongoing commitment to learning about other cultures, carrying humility when met with other beliefs and practices, being conscious of how power imbalances shape our cultural relationships, and treating all people with dignity and respect. 

Though my Laidlaw experience is winding down, my leadership development is far from over. I’m excited to continue my leadership development through continuous reflection on the values and ethical frameworks that I aim to center in my life. I want to read further about different leaders and ethical vantage points, in particular the frameworks posited by underrepresented authors. I also hope to have the ability to continue traveling. I know that every ensuing travel experience will add to my familiarity with other cultures, as well as my sense of autonomy and ability to navigate the world. 

My time as a Laidlaw Scholar has been a treasured experience. I am so very grateful for the caring and inspiring people that it has brought into my life, the confidence it has instilled, and the unparalleled education in global citizenry it has given me.