Hello people!!! I'm Delaney. I am a rising Junior at Georgetown University studying International History in the School of Foreign Service- I am planning to minor in Spanish and Math. My major concentration is Colonial Legacies and Social Structures, intending to promote Decoloniality, the deconstruction of colonial logic and the perceived naturalness of racial capitalism.  I graduated from Waconia High School in Minnesota (about 30 minutes west of the Twin Cities).  My research project for this Summer (2024) focuses on Black Resiliency in the British Caribbean, plus how foodways contribute to cultural transmission. With a research team, I traveled to Cat Island in the Bahamas and interviewed local farmers, historians, herbologists, and artisans to collect their primary perspectives and oral histories. Moving forward, I want to synthesize the lingering effects of British occupation on Cat Island, as well as promote the sustainable lifestyle that many Bahamians have inherited through generations. 

Hi everybody. I am Mateo. I am an Experimental Physics graduate from the University of St Andrews. I am a curious, talkative and reflective individual with a love for telling and hearing stories. I am from Peru, but have moved around quite a bit having lived in Equatorial Guinea, England and now Scotland. I consider having such a multicultural background a very nourishing and essential part of my being. Consequentially, I love travelling and learning languages, and I am always happy to connect with people from all walks of life and parts of the world. When I am not busy demystifying the rules of the universe, I enjoy dancing, cooking, walking and analysing movies. I also love programming and its applications for simulating real-world physics and processing large amounts of day-to-day data. In June, I will be graduating with an Integrated Masters in Physics, however, I aspire to develop professionally outside of academia possibly in the field of data analytics. I am happy to connect with any Scholars! 

My name is Fiona and I'm a member of the Class of 2026 at Georgetown University in the US. I'm majoring in Culture and Politics with a concentration in International Labor Policy and minoring in English and French. My research focuses on the intersection between artificial intelligence and labor exploitation. I aim to chronicle the ways that the tech industry would not function without the contract labor performed by millions of workers in the Global South, and to analyze new models of tech worker organizing to strengthen their power and autonomy. I also hope to situate this "last mile" of digital automation within historical trends of piecework, mechanization, and labor displacement under capitalism. For my summer 2025 Leadership in Action project, I'm interning at a labor union in the capital of Tunisia.

Hi There! I am Sharon, a rising junior studying Business and Global Affairs at Georgetown University. I am minoring in statistics and planning on pursuing a career in international development, with a specific focus on bridging the aid-development gap to mitigate protracted displacement around the world.  For my Laidlaw research project, I am working with Professor Christi Smith of Georgetown University's Institute for the Study of International Migration to study the phenomenon of increasing Consulting publications and work on migration and refugee integration-related issues. I aim to explore how the emergence of a new organizational form in the refugee services space might shift the course of refugee incorporation during a time of increasing forced migration and rising political polarization, and its potential policy implications. Our study analyzes 24 publicly available consulting reports using mixed methods to identify prominent and distinguishable patterns and themes. We are also conducting interviews with consultants to explore the internal and external factors contributing to these themes. By contrasting these findings with those from the public sector and NGOs, we aim to highlight different approaches to migration and refugee issues. In my free time, I like to dance (my faves are Chinese Folk and Classical Dances!), watch TV shows, and spend quality time with my siblings! I love food and are always excited to try out new cuisines! I believe that nonverbal and nonwritten communication, including all performance art and culinary practices, are powerful ways to build connections and enhance cross-cultural appreciation and dynamism.   One fun fact about me is that I am an identical twin. My sister, Susan (got our name from The Parent Trap lol) also attends Georgetown University and studies Human Science on the pre-med track.  Would love to connect with anyone interested in discussing anything in the realm of social and political science or on their journey exploring their faith as I am, so don't hesitate to reach out :)

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!

Hi! My name is Paige and I am a sophomore studying electrical & computer engineering and computer science at Cornell University. My Laidlaw project involves using eDNA barcoding to assess the health and biodiversity of marine ecosystems. 

Hi! I am a junior at Cornell University pursuing an independent major of Interdisciplinary Studies (Education, Information Science, Psychology). Through Laidlaw, I am conducting research on the social-ecological impacts of Indonesia's capital relocation and am excited to explore the intersection between bioacoustics, Indigenous knowledge, and public education. Feel free to connect with me on here or on LinkedIn!

Hello! My name is Marina Blackman (she/her) and I am from Columbia, Maryland. I am a sophomore at Cornell University majoring in Biological Sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences and concentrating in Marine Biology. I have always loved the ocean and marine life, so getting hands-on Marine Biology opportunities is so exciting to me! As part of the Laidlaw 2024 Cohort, I am so excited to work with Dr. Soon Hon Cheong and Lee Yoke Lee on their Commons Biodiversity Project in Malaysia. In collaboration with a team of scientists at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, the Commons Biodiversity Project aims to apply Environmental DNA techniques to help conserve the Crocus clams (Tridacna crocea) native to the area. With its mission of Crocus clam conservation, this project aims to foster and grow a passion for marine wildlife conservation in the local population of Terengganu.

Hi! I am a 4th year undergraduate scholar at Trinity College Dublin studying Global Business, and I am currently on my study abroad in ESCP Paris. My research project centres on the importance of female leaders from ethnic minorities in the business C-suite & the necessity for better racial and gender diversity on executive boards worldwide.  I’m really looking forward to meeting new people and experiencing new things on this journey!

Hi, my name is Amelia and I'm part of the 2024 cohort! I'm passionate about innovation, technology, and design, and how they each intersect with politics. In my first summer, I examined protest art from the 2019 Anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong. My interest in this topic stems from cultural ties to Hong Kong, my high school visual arts education, and a desire to partake in a broader discussion on links between art and politics. Outside of Laidlaw, I'm also examining links between artificial intelligence and military development. Beyond academia, I love photography, art, and exploring the city with friends. Feel free to reach out!