Hi everyone! I run the CraftHER Leadership-in-action program by @Swara - Voice of Women. Here's our IG: www.instagram.com/craftherbyswara/ I’m Asha Scaria Vettoor, an entrepreneur and Laidlaw Scholar from the University of Oxford. I run Swara, a social enterprise based in India that creates income opportunities for women through ethical fashion and storytelling. We also host CraftHER, a 6-week Leadership-in-Action program that brings Laidlaw scholars from around the world to Kerala to learn from women-led enterprises, grassroots organisations, and artisan communities. I’m passionate about building bridges between global learners and local changemakers in my community and always up for a conversation on social entrepreneurship, ethical supply chains, or running programs in remote parts of India.

Hey! I’m Samuel Kamalendran, a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto (Mississauga), where I major in Political Science and minor in English and Classics. My research project is titled “In the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Evaluating the Protection Afforded to Vulnerable Canadians by Bill C-7” and will explore whether Canada’s assisted-dying legal framework sufficiently protects the disabled, mentally ill, and those in poverty. I was first introduced to this topic through a term research paper in a Canadian Political Science course, and quickly became very engaged in the subject. What truly stood out to me about this subject was the intellectual conflict underpinning the debate about the Bill’s provisions. I was fascinated by the justifications both sides offered—all of which contained some measure of truth—and the simultaneous inability of scholars to come to a clear consensus. I was also very drawn to the real-life stories of individuals who interacted with MAiD—every one of which spoke directly to the implications of any law that intersected law, medicine, and the ethics of self-autonomy. Furthermore, as an aspiring legal professional, I am especially interested in diving into the legal and parliamentary cases that drove the development of assisted-dying forward, and performing a comparative analysis of international jurisdictions to decipher key lessons which can answer questions about the effectiveness of MAiD frameworks. In my free time, I enjoy working out, creating music on the piano and drums, and exploring local rivers, lakes, and trails with my brothers. I’m also active in journalism at my university, interested in AI and business, and passionate about serving my peers through my work with my school’s International Centre and my upcoming roles on various committees and boards. I’m sincerely looking forward to learning more about you all and your research projects! I would love to connect with y’all via LinkedIn, email (at samuel.kamalendran@mail.utoronto.ca), and/or through the Scholars network. I hope everyone has a fun, relaxing, and productive summer! :)

Hi! I’m Eno, and I'm part of the 2025 Cohort. I’m passionate about contemporary issues in the European Union and how they intersect with law, peace, and conflict. Outside of school, I love to cafe-hop, read, and pick up foreign languages. Always looking for new friends—feel free to reach out!

Hello! I'm Tyler Carriaga, a recipient of a full-ride merit scholarship at the University of Toronto, where I'm studying Architecture and Public Policy. I strive to continue evolving my personal and technical skills in my journey of learning how to help (quite literally) build greener, more resilient, and equitable communities.

Drawing from an interdisciplinary framework, I broadly interrogate nationhood, citizenship, statelessness, and the distribution of rights. As a scholar, I hope to make my life a material of storytelling—seeking life with questions, wandering while film-making, and photography to capture spatial temporality.

Hi everyone! My name is Caroline, and I am a rising fourth-year at the University of Toronto pursuing a double major in Public Policy and Sociology, and a minor in Education and Society. As a Laidlaw Scholar, I investigated the factors that influence cross-national educational disparities in a study comparing Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. I hope to further investigate such inequalities to bridge systemic gaps in social mobility in my future academic and professional endeavours. Some of my interests include track and field, playing violin, and spending time outdoors. Please feel free to reach out; I would love to connect! 

Hello! I'm Petrina and I'm currently studying philosophy at the University of Toronto. As a member of the 2024 Laidlaw Scholars cohort, I am interested in philosophy, specifically philosophy of religion and phenomenology. 

Hello! I recently graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Psychology Research from the University of Toronto. I’m passionate about youth mental health and how humour can be used to support resilience after adversity. My Summer 1 research project explored the relationship between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation — deepening my understanding of the psychological impacts of early trauma. In Summer 2, I led a Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated a comedy-based mental health program for teens. That experience led me to found HaHaHelps — an organization that uses improv comedy to support youth mental health through accessible, community-led workshops. I'm currently piloting the full program in South Africa, with plans to expand to more communities globally. Please feel free to connect :) Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/younessrobert-tahiri Email: youness@hahahelps.org

Hello! I'm Sahana (she/her), a electrical and computer engineering student at the University of Toronto. Deeply passionate about sustainability, my goal is to leverage my engineering problem-solving skills to develop solutions that prioritize inclusivity and well being of vulnerable communities and environments. This summer I will be conducting research on the effectiveness of blockchain-backed NFC cards for disaster relief in Vanuatu. 

Welcome to MedStat! My website about all things medicine :) Read all about the biological basis of love in my Article ‘ Everything is Everything, but Better with You’! Here’s my publication on the underlying Pathology and Novel Treatments for Heart Failure with a Reduced Ejection Fraction! Namaste!  I'm Snaiha, a medical student at Trinity College Dublin. My ambition is to be a paediatric cardiothoracic surgeon while simultaneously dabbling in research, especially in molecular medicine and neuroscience which I find extremely interesting!  I have medical publications both completed and ongoing in cardiology, pharmacology, medical humanities, and anatomy!  I am an avid reader and enjoy Manga creation, still life drawing, and photography. I am also passionate about lifestyle and fitness, being a PADI Advanced Open Water Certified Diver, and a gym enthusiast!  Fun Fact : my name means Love and I’m about all things heart! 

Hello there! I'm a third-year student in Conservation and Biodiversity at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. My passion for biology stems from research on pollination, insects and biodiversity at my school's gardens since I was seven-years-old. Now, I intend to continue to pursue passion this with a project that has an impact in disadvantaged communities from my home country, Colombia.  I will be studying the pollination networks of cacao trees, which is crucial to contribute to agroforestry systems in tropical Latin America, so that they are a sustainable and productive opportunity for smallholder farmers that want to restore forest areas. On a side note, I'm a curious person by nature and that's why I like to do and learn lots of things. So whether you are interested in my project or not, feel free to reach out! I believe that there are no boundaries when collaborating interdisciplinary. For example, research on cacao trees not only spans biology. There is ongoing anthropological research that is trying to figure out how cocoa got from the Amazon (its biological origin) to Mexico! 

Hi there 👋 I'm Neha Gupta, a fourth year student at the University of Toronto.  I'm interested in the law, peace-making, diplomacy and human rights.  My Summer I project looked at how paediatric oncology patients in nations with universal healthcare plans access psychosocial support. In Summer II, I hope to work with an organization to give marginalized communities (particularly women) the institutional support they need to stand up to injustices they face.  My Summer II LiA had me working with United Women Singapore to promote their women in STEM and women's empowerment initiatives. I focused on story-telling, digital communication and community building.