Hi! My name is Evie, and I am a 2025 Laidlaw Scholar from Trinity College Dublin. I am originally from California, but have been living in Ireland full-time for 2 years pursuing a double major in History and Political Science.  For my research project, I’m exploring the emotional and psychological barriers that deter politically interested women from pursuing careers in public service in Ireland. By examining how male and female students respond emotionally to key aspects of political life—such as campaigning, election day, governance, and reelection—I hope to better understand gendered dynamics of political ambition and encourage more inclusive, emotionally aware framing of the political sphere.  I’m excited to connect with fellow scholars and members of the Laidlaw community! 

Hey!  I am an undergraduate student at the University of Cambridge studying Geography.  My project looks at agricultural systems that use cooperative practices (cooperatives, CSAs, intentional communities). I want to use Ostrom's eight design principles as a framework to understand similarities in their success stories. I want to understand how they operate alongside and within a capitalist economic system and how law and land policy shape their systems. Though I am realising this is perhaps way too much for one 6-week research project, the hope is that this can serve as a framework to upscale Commoning practices in Cambridgeshire. If you have any knowledge about land-use (policy + law), community economics, Commons and cooperation send it my way! Equally, if you have an LIA suggestion that can build on these interests that would be fab.  Whilst my project is very food and community focused, I am fascinated by all things geography, with a passion for social justice. My interests are definitely multidisciplinary and I am jealous of every project on here. 🦎

Hello! I'm Milla, a rising third-year student at Trinity College Dublin! I am originally from Sweden, but grew up in Seattle! As an Economics major and Political Science minor, my passions are rooted in macroeconomic policy in relation to immigration and environmental justice.  As such, my research seeks to contextualise the shortcomings in the economic integration of immigrants in Stockholm through an analysis of respective wealth profiles between first-generation immigrants and native Swedes. It additionally cross-references the economic evaluation to their relative access to quality green spaces, assessing the sophistication level of integration as it pertains to public goods. I am excited to connect and learn about all the fascinating research conducted by my fellow Laidlaw scholars! Feel free to reach out-- I'd love to connect!

Hello! My name is Bhadra, and I am a second-year Law and Business student at Trinity College Dublin. I have an interest in criminal law, in particular feminist criminology. My Summer 1 research topic is 'Motherhood on Trial: A Comparative Analysis of the Miscarriage of Justice in Infanticide Cases'. I aim to take an inter-jurisdictional perspective in examining three notable cases - those of Joanne Hayes, Sally Clarke and Kathleen Folbigg.  Overall, my overarching goal is to highlight how women exist and are perceived within inherently oppressive social systems. If you have any questions or would like to reach out, please feel free to do so on panickeb@tcd.ie!

Hi! I’m Rachel, a 3rd year undergraduate at Trinity College Dublin. I'm a Computer Science major with a minor in Business. My current research focuses on AI-generated content detection in academic writing, and how we can design systems that go beyond surface-level tone analysis and actually look at how something was created, not just what it looks like on the page. I’m particularly interested in where technology meets accountability; whether that’s through blockchain-backed transparency, ethical design, or just building tools that help people do good things better. I think we need to be a lot more thoughtful about how we integrate AI into education, and a lot more ambitious about the kinds of institutions we want to shape in the process. Also, like most people who spend too long on side projects, I occasionally forget how to relax. When I do, though, I read whatever I can get my hands (usually poetry or classic fiction). Or I try baking some treats. Or I go cafe hopping with friends for conversation. If you’d like to chat about any of the above, or anything really, I’d love to hear from you.

Hello! I’m Trisha, a fourth-year student at Cornell University from Texas, USA. I’m majoring in Environment and Sustainability with a dual focus on food systems and wildlife conservation, and minoring 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. I will be returning 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. At Cornell, I am an Institute of Politics and Global Affairs Scholar, through which I interact with policymakers monthly to discuss pervasive issues in international politics. I also 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.  For fun, I love to turn even the most mundane materials into recycled art, spend hours on end working through jigsaw puzzles, and go for runs while listening to podcasts. And as a diehard foodie who loves to travel, I’m always looking for recommendations of places to visit or new recipes to try!  The Laidlaw Scholars Program has been an invaluable component of my undergraduate experience. The friendships I’ve made, as well as the research and language skills I’ve begun to develop, have 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 trb238@cornell.edu. I hope we can meet in person someday!

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