I. Introduction: The Present

It seems hardly feasible that my main contributions to the Laidlaw Program have concluded; I still feel the trepidation at starting to design a research project, let alone embarking abroad for my LiA. Conversely, looking back on my time, I am astounded with the work and individual development I have achieved alongside the Durham 2025 Cohort. The Program has given me not just experience with practical work for sustainability, but the tools and vocabulary to best dedicate my own traits to any given goal. Speaking through the lens of capacities, change maker values, and character dimensions, I plan to encapsulate my Laidlaw journey and find closure in the period which is now coming to an end.

II. Reflections: The Past

My time with Laidlaw spans my initial discovery of the Program (from before even my arrival at university) through to graduation and beyond, as I carry the lessons and ambitions I've developed over the last year and a half. Reflecting on each of these milestones, I can delineate my personal progress in character and leadership.

Figure 1: Timeline of my journey with the Laidlaw Program at Durham University

Induction

With such a broad pool of applicants, I remember being deeply curious about who would comprise my cohort. I met many of the Scholars at an initial welcome presentation and light lunch. Speaking with people from both similar and different backgrounds, I was able to both challenge my existing viewpoints and gain existing depth with people in perspectives we shared. Connections grew deeper with our initial leadership development training, where we worked with external speakers on workshops and collaborative challenges to practice working together and exerting leadership in tandem with other avid leaders. These interactions set the tone for the rest of my work with Laidlaw, as I began to embrace leadership in the context of global citizenship and personal development.

Capacities: communication and influencing, collaborative mindset, critical thinking and reflection
Change maker values: curious, good
Character dimensions: courage, collaboration, humility

Research Summer

For my project, Biosourced Additives for Environmentally Friendly Fabric Care Formulations, I worked in Prof. Clare Mahon's polymer lab under the supervision of Dr. Matthieu Starck, developing biosourced polymers for use as dye-transfer inhibitors in laundry detergents, preventing color transfer between clothes (reducing electricity and water consumption) while replacing existing PET-derived industry standard. This provided me an opportunity to work on a problem I had considered theoretically – wastewater pollution – in a time-constrained real-world setting, applying my academic knowledge with my initial leadership training to produce a performing output. I also grew through writing for both a scientific journal and general audience, as well as producing a poster summary, which enhanced my understanding of the topic and communicating it at different levels.

Capacities: design thinking and problem solving, research and analysis, strategy and vision
Change maker values: ambitious, curious, fast
Character dimensions: accountability, drive, integrity, judgment

Conferences & Character

Between my Laidlaw summers, the program provided many opportunities for personal development, beginning with the 2025 European Laidlaw Scholars Conference. This included both academic development (presenting my poster, including to representatives from Taylor & Francis – which involved stress management as well) and interpersonal ability, as my cohort was responsible for hosting visiting Scholars. The conference also kickstarted the Oxford Character Project course, giving me further opportunity to introspect and explore my own understanding of character as well as rebound my ideas off of other participating students. Other than these foundation-wide events, I had two other chances to demonstrate my development and practice growth: the poster I developed for my summer research enabled me to present at a conference hosted by the Durham Biophysical Sciences Institute, and Durham Laidlaw hosted a pre-LiA leadership workshop to emphasize the importance of ethics alongside personal ambition in a global context.

Capacities: global citizenship, critical thinking and reflection
Change maker values: extraordinary, good
Character dimensions: all (through OCP), but especially integrity, judgment, humanity

Leadership in Action

The Program culminated in me traveling to Zanzibar to work with Under the Wave organization, contributing to their marine conservation efforts balancing science and community engagement. I required all of the skills I had been honing for the past year, from strong character during weak health to adaptability in designing a new project from scratch due to weather delays. This project was eye-opening as I learned to contextualize issues that I held central to me (conservation) with local perspectives and constraints. Regular reflections kept me accountable and aware of the rate of my progress. I came away with a sense of community with people from a different area of the world to me, and a stronger desire to contribute to mitigating anthropogenic climate change, especially where human life and livelihoods are at risk. I learned that I was able to cope with more hardships than anticipated by focusing on the importance of conservation work and how small steps contribute to the larger picture, and I feel driven to carry this mindset into my future career. 

Capacities: diversity equity and inclusion, impact measurement and analysis, creative ideation
Change maker values: ambitious, fast, curious, brave
Character dimensions: transcendence, drive, humanity, temperance

III. Thinking Beyond: The Future

Of course, while my official time with Durham Laidlaw is drawing to a close, remaining responsibilities loom on the near and far horizons. In the coming months, I plan to expand upon my LiA findings by working with a laboratory in Durham to verify the methodologies I designed for studying sand and seawater. Starting in October, I will work with the Laidlaw team to recruit the new cohort, and help develop and distribute materials throughout the year until my graduation in June. After that, I hope to stay in touch with my Durham cohort and work with the alumni network to track our progress after the Program and share any opportunities which are of interest to then-current Scholars. 

Outside of specific responsibilities, I aim to utilize my newfound understanding of myself and my professional and personal goals to attain new progress. Understanding my strengths and limitations, I strive to better fit niches in dedicated teams and compensate for my limitations, while also aiming to ameliorate these flaws with conscious character work in everyday scenarios. Practically, I would like to continue work in conservation, applying my background in chemistry and physics to human-focused issues. While I may not have the details fully clarified, the primary lesson Laidlaw has taught me is that flexibility is key, and knowing how one will work far supersedes the importance of knowing what project one will work on.