School of Classics President | Laidlaw Scholar | Foreign Affairs Review Analyst | 4x State Department Intern

I am a History student at Durham University, in my second year of the Laidlaw programme. My first year project research explored citizenship education in relation to social cohesion, and sporting provision supporting refugee and asylum seeker integration. Following the publication of my research report, I am now a member of the Academic Advisory Group to the All Party Parliamentary Group for Political and Media Literacy. I also now work within UK refugee sports provision trying to drive positive change in the sector, through starting my own initiative in Durham, and spotlighting and networking with projects nationwide, through an article series I edit for ConnectSport. This summer, I will be doing my LiA in St Lucia, producing a coaching framework working with  United Through Sport, to improve their delivery of sports teaching to local children from underprivileged backgrounds. 

I became a Laidlaw Scholar in 2025 during the first year of my BSc in Physics & Chemistry at @Durham University, with interest in researching interdisciplinary solutions to anthropogenic climate change and pollution. In my first summer, I developed biosourced polymers for use in laundry detergents, producing a compound with promising performance compared to industry standards. For my Leadership in Action project, I partnered with @Under the Wave Organisation to assist data monitoring at a sea cucumber farm and support sustainable livelihoods in Zanzibar.

Hello, my name is Erin and I am a third year Classics student at Durham University. I am thrilled to have been accepted onto the Laidlaw Leadership and Research Programme as part of the 2025 cohort. I have always been what I consider to be academically curious but what is more colloquially termed as nerdy - especially in regards to Classics (I just love learning new things!). I also have aspirations to undertake a career in humanitarian work, driven by my desire to fight for social justice and empower others to do so. In this way, the remit of the Leadership and Research programme, to cultivate leaders whose actions are both ethical and data-driven, appeared to me to be perfectly aligned with my own interests.  I have had previous experience in the various domains of the programme: in terms of leadership, I was Head Student at my Secondary School in my final year; I completed a 5000 word EPQ research paper two years ago; and I have had some volunteering experience at a local food-bank. However, I am both aware of and looking forward to the fact that this programme is going to really challenge me mentally, emotionally and physically when it comes to the research project, the Oxford Character Project and the LiA, respectively. I am hopeful that the programme will lead to lots of personal growth and assist, alongside my degree and other uni experiences, in equipping me with the tools I need to be the driving force behind the change I want to see in the world after graduation!

Hello! I’m a Philosophy student at Durham University, with academic interests in applied ethics, decision-making and sustainability. My broader aim is to use interdisciplinary research to drive measurable, socially meaningful change. My summer research explored barriers to public transport adoption, with a view toward long-term policy implementation. This project combined behavioural science, psychology, urban planning, and design to contribute to more sustainable and inclusive transport policies. For my LiA, I will be travelling to Kerala for the central CraftHER project, where I will undertake four consulting projects with local female-led businesses and a research project.