Dhanush Karthik Rajan

I am a first-year BSc International Relations and History student at the London School of Economics and Political Science.  My relevant experiences span research, writing, and social impact initiatives around geopolitics and socio-economic development. I wish to understand and address the structural drivers of global asymmetries, particularly educational, gender, and postcolonial inequalities.  This summer, for my LiA, I will work with the British Red Cross, evaluating its “Flooding: Aware, Prepare, Care” adult education programme. Using mixed-methods research, including qualitative fieldwork and programme evaluation, I will assess how effectively the intervention improves flood risk awareness and preparedness.

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

LSE Laidlaw Scholar & Champion Hi, I'm Alyssa - an second-year undergrad at the LSE studying Social Policy and Politics! For my Leadership in Action project, I spent the summer at Zero Gravity, a social mobility organisation, leading a STEM mentoring partnership with GSK and matching mentees across a few other corporate programmes. Zero Gravity is the reason I made it into LSE - I was one of their mentees in sixth form, so working on the other side of the platform meant a lot to me. I'm interested in consulting, social mobility and widening access to education. Always happy to chat to anyone thinking about a similar path, or just in general! :)