Hi! My name is Maitree and I'm a rising sophomore at Barnard College of Columbia University. I'm part of Barnard's 2026 Laidlaw Scholars Cohort and I'm excited to be pursuing macroeconomics research in monetary policy and housing affordability. As an Economics and Computer Science major, I enjoy patterns and logic. I like to connect real-world events with theoretical concepts which fuels my passion for research. I'm a curious and driven student, keen on making an impact and answering a meaningful question through my Laidlaw project. 

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Adelina is a pre-law student majoring in Sociology with interests in education policy, immigration law and the intersections of race and political representation. As a Chicana scholar committed to utilizing well-informed research as a pathway to meaningful action, she believes in uplifting overlooked histories as pathways to empowerment. Her Laidlaw research investigates how the forced displacement of Mexican American families from Chávez Ravine to construct Dodger Stadium shapes the relationship between the L.A. Dodgers and Latino communities. Outside of being a Laidlaw Scholar, Adelina remains committed to public service by continuing to advocate for youth-centered policy initiatives as Governor Gavin Newsom's appointee to the California Youth Empowerment Commission. She has also worked with New York City's Project Rousseau as an Immigration Legal Services Intern and conducted research with the Columbia University Policy Institute, further developing her interests in civic engagement, educational equity and policy reform. As a Barnard pre-law student, Adelina is committed to pursuing a legal career dedicated to advancing representation and justice for historically marginalized communities.

My research focuses on interrogating anti-immigrant rhetoric in Italian politics, especially since 2015 and especially that which centers around economic concerns. I'm also interested in policies that support child migrants and refugees, particularly unaccompanied minors. 

Hello everyone! My name is Stella Dull, and I'm a rising junior at Barnard College double majoring in East Asian Studies and Applied Math. My research interests lie in the intersection between environmental justice, political theory, and renewable energy. Last summer, I researched China’s approach to green industrial policy and their associated outcomes through a political theorist lens with Professor Alyssa Battistoni. This summer, I will be traveling to China to work with an environmental NGO called Green Camel Bell, where I will help lead an environmental educational summer program for youth.

Hello! I’m Trisha, a graduate of Cornell University from Texas, USA. I majored in Environment and Sustainability with a dual focus on food systems and wildlife conservation, and minored in International Relations. My interests in combining my enduring passions for writing and wildlife conservation have driven me to explore multiple perspectives on highly-controversial issues such as trophy hunting, retaliatory animal killings, and illegal wildlife crime. Thus, during my first summer as a Laidlaw Scholar and as a member of the Morally Contested Conservation team, I wrote a literature review on the interconnectedness of climate change and human-wildlife conflicts in East and southern Africa. In June and July 2024, I furthered this research by traveling to the University of Oxford and to the Burunge Wildlife Management Area in Tanzania, and returned to Oxford and Burunge in June and July 2025 to report my results.  As an aspiring environmental policymaker and journalist, I am passionate about making technical scientific information more accessible to the general public. I speak Marathi, Spanish, and Swahili at varying levels of fluency and plan to continue to grow my language skills to communicate environmental issues across continents and cultures.  The Laidlaw Scholars Program was an invaluable component of my undergraduate experience. The friendships I made, as well as the research and language skills I began to develop, encouraged me to continue to ask and seek answers to complicated questions about global affairs and environmental science. If anyone has questions or feedback about the Laidlaw Program, is interested in collaborating, or just wants to say hello, please feel free to email me at trisha.bhujle@gmail.com!

I am a rising junior at Barnard College studying English and Education. I am passionate about expanding access to higher education for underrepresented communities and addressing disparities in K-12 education. This summer, I will conduct a comparative critical policy analysis of financial aid policies in New York and Georgia, examining how such policies impact students' access to higher education. As a future educator and educational researcher, this opportunity is invaluable for bridging my passion for research and education with meaningful advocacy.

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 am currently conducting a feasibility study of the program in South Africa as part of my master’s dissertation in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, 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

Hi everyone! I'm a rising junior at Barnard College of Columbia University, where I am double majoring in Political Science and Human Rights, and minoring in French. This summer I'm researching about art reinstitution and its ethical and legal components. Some of my other interests include social work, human rights, and law. Please feel free to reach me at cd3442@barnard.edu

Hi! I'm Sophia, an aspiring scientist and philomath. I love learning about everything and anything and delight in spending time with people who are passionate about the things they love! I am really interested and curious about how we can use chemistry to improve processes and products to help society. For example, my research project is looking into the possibility of turning struvite, a mineral which is a by-product of waste-water treatment processes into slow-release nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers, which would be a green source nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers and help achieve goals of zero-waste.  If you are researching something similar or are interested in learning more about the project, please reach out! I am super happy to talk about the project and meet other who are doing something similar and possibly collaborate!