Dristan Munroe

Pragyan is a junior majoring in Culture and Politics at Georgetown University in Qatar. He works as an Economics Peer Tutor at the Office of Academic Services, and also as a Research Assistant at the Energy Humanities Program, where he is currently developing an energy-themed board game. For his Laidlaw project, he is exploring the history of labor in the electricification of the Philippines. This project intersects energy history and colonial studies, exploring how US Colonialism shaped electricity during and after the US control of the Islands. 

Hi! My name is Ella Shi and I'm from Seattle, Washington. I am a current sophomore at Georgetown University studying Human Science. Outside of academics, I love journaling, scrapbooking, and painting pottery!

Colleen manages the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme at Georgetown University. Through her work, Colleen aims to increase accessibility in fellowships advising for all Georgetown students with a special focus on reflective practices intended to help students identify and develop personal and career goals. Prior to joining Georgetown University, Colleen served as the Assistant Director for Early Career Initiatives with NASPA- Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, where she managed professional development programs for undergraduate student, graduate student, and new professional members. Colleen holds a master’s degree in Student Development in Higher Education from the University of Maine and bachelor’s degrees in Women and Gender Studies and Anthropology from the University of Delaware.

Hi! My name is Rishika Singh and I'm a rising sophomore at Georgetown University majoring in Human Science. As a Laidlaw Scholar, I am investigating how socioeconomic and demographic factors, including income, insurance status, educational attainment, employment, race, and ethnicity, influence healthcare seeking behavior and symptom severity among patients with acute rhinosinusitis. Beyond research, I love being active and spending time with my friends. I also love food and my favorite cuisine is Thai food. Feel free to reach out here or at rs2298@georgetown.edu!

Hi, I’m Isabella! I am a rising third year student at Georgetown University studying American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies with a research focus on sexual violence, Christian nationalism, and gender policy. I am an educator and advocate for sexual violence prevention at both a cultural and legislative level.  This summer, I will be working with Dr. Nadia Brown and a fellow scholar to understand the occurrence and effects of violence against local-level women politicians. I am particularly interested in the influence of digital abuse involving AI and the effect that sexual harassment has on women’s political participation.  Please feel free to reach out! Email: ibw9@georgetown.edu

Hello! I’m a psychology researcher and the founder of HaHaHelps, a nonprofit organisation developing and delivering a comedy-based psychosocial programme designed to support young people in residential care. I am currently completing an MSocSci in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, where my dissertation examines the feasibility of HaHaHelps programme with adolescents in South African child and youth care centres. My broader interests include youth mental health, psychosocial intervention development, implementation, participatory approaches, and the use of humour and play to support connection, emotional expression, self-efficacy, and coping with uncertainty. HaHaHelps grew out of my Laidlaw Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated an improv-comedy programme for adolescents. Since then, I have continued developing and delivering the programme with young people in residential care and am now studying how it can be refined, evaluated, and ultimately adapted for use in other communities and settings. Before this, my Laidlaw research at the University of Toronto examined relationships between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation. I’d love to connect with other Laidlaw Scholars and alumni interested in youth mental health, social impact, intervention development, social entrepreneurship, or simply finding creative ways to turn research into something useful in the world.

Hi! My name is Ariadna (Arina) Maksin and I'm a rising sophomore at Georgetown University. I currently research and study neurobiology, which stems from my interest in understanding and targeting the biological mechanisms underlying substance addiction (particularly opioid abuse). My Laidlaw project investigates the role of KCC2, a potassium-chloride cotransporter protein, in morphine addiction. I hope to ultimately integrate wet-lab addiction research with both biotherapeutic and public policy fields to create sustainable treatment and prevention strategies for addiction in the US.  Outside of research, I love creative writing (particularly poetry) and I'm hoping to double major in English. I also enjoy dancing – I'm on hiphop and bhangra teams at Georgetown – as well as playing piano, exploring new cuisines, and reading. Feel free to reach out here or at am4981@georgetown.edu!