Hi everyone, my name is Terrah — or Danae if you know me from Danalize, my startup, where I’ve helped over 500,000 college and high school students get smart about their college loans and promote financial literacy. I’m a junior at Barnard College, Columbia University, double majoring in sociology and human rights on the pre-law track. I'm also a part of the 2025 Laidlaw scholar cohort. My mission is to help others through my experience as a first-generation, low-income student from an underserved high school. This passion, combined with the disparities I’ve seen in financial literacy—especially in communities of color—has inspired my current research on the relationship between financial literacy and higher educational attainment. Feel free to connect as we grow together, not just as scholars, but as passionate advocates for change.

Hi! I'm originally from Hull, East Yorkshire but I'm currently a second year undergraduate student studying for a BA in Linguistics and ab initio Italian at the University of York. Alongside my studies, I am also the current blog coordinator for the University Feminist Society. Being a Laidlaw Scholar allows me to research the success of speech and language therapies in my project entitled 'Hidden behind a smile: acquisition and societal perception of speech sounds in children with cleft lip and palate.'!  My pronouns are she/they, please feel free to use either! 

Hi, my names Victoria Lynn and I'm currently in my final year studying LLB Law at the University of Leeds! My research focuses on the perceptions of school staff of autistic girls in secondary education, a topic which is heavily under-represented in the wider Autism literature due to the misconception of Autism being a 'male' condition, largely due to difference in presentation, and a higher number of autistic girls masking their Autistic traits. This topic is one which is also close to home, having had many of my own concerns throughout education regarding Dyslexia, which was often dismissed as I was not deemed to be "struggling enough." Both my own experience and my knowledge learned through researching this topic has inspired me to write my final year legal dissertation on the "right to inclusive education" (Article 24 of the United Nations Convention of Persons with Disabilities) of Autistic pupils in secondary education in England.

Hey! I am Izzy and I am part of the 2022 cohort of Laidlaw Scholars at the University of Leeds. I study BSc Economics and I am interested in mental health, health economics and health policy. I am excited to have a career that allows me to explore my interests further and I am always open to chat! My research project involves undertaking a literature review and analysing responses to surveys completed by students on their sense of belonging and engagement at university. I hope my research can help students settle into university better so that they can reach their potential :)

I was fortunate enough to conduct academic research under the supervision of Stephen Gethins,  Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St Andrews and now a sitting MP. Stephen introduced me to a truly fascinating yet often overlooked area of International Relations: sub-state and regional actors and their place in global politics, with a focus on Scotland in particular. Through this, I have developed an interest in Scotland's place in the world as a nation without an independent foreign office, but as a nation with extensive international influence and a powerful global diaspora. This topic formed the basis of my Laidlaw project, my undergraduate and postgraduate dissertation, and my PhD. I take a keen interested in other academic fields such as politics, history, and philosophy. Although an International Relations and Sociology student first and foremost, I had the opportunity of studying Ancient History and Classics alongside my degree for two years. If I were to ever win the lottery, you would find me endlessly cycling University, spending my remaining days studying Ancient History and Philosophy, Politics, Anthropology, Theology, Theoretical Physics and Maths, or whatever subject I develop an interest in down the line. Since leaving the University of St Andrews and the Laidlaw Programme, I completed an MRes degree at the University of Glasgow in Sociology and Research Methods. I received a scholarship for a PhD in Sociology at the University of Glasgow which I am completing part-time in addition to my role as Research Officer at Carers Trust Scotland - a charity supporting unpaid carers which I had previously volunteered for. My PhD is a continuation of my Scottish diaspora studies, seeking to reconcile the notion of 'civic Scottishness' with the Scottish identity of the lived diaspora.  

I'm Lorna and I'm currently studying for my MPhil in Multi-disciplinary studies at the University of Cambridge. My research explores the role gender stereotypes play in experiences of mental health symptoms and treatment. Previous to this, I studied Combined Hons in Social Sciences at Durham University. My research typically draws from the anthropological, political and, sociological disciplines with a core interest in gender, emotions and embodiment.  I am devoted to discovering and understanding the structures and relationships that govern our bodily experiences.  My summer research topic explored whether the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced how one views their body and health and whether this influence is gendered. Through questioning people's changing relationships to food, exercise and social media throughout the lockdowns, I aimed to begin to unearth the entanglement of unprecedented social phenomena and body image.  For my LIA I travelled to North Carolina. There, I volunteered with UNC CEED, Duke's Eating Disorder Centre and a local mental health clinic where I explored the use of diagnostic criteria. From this, I created my own informal diagnostic tool to assist clinicians with identifying disordered eating habits catalysed by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.  I am grateful to all of these establishments for hosting me.

My project looks at the educational outcomes of children on the Autistic Disorder Spectrum and their correlates. My subjects are Mathematics and Economics within NatSci at Durham University, but I'm eager to engage with anything economics, mathematics and mental health more broadly.

Hi👋🏾 I’m Pearls I am a final year Law student at the University of Leeds. I recently completed a placement year at The Walt Disney Company as a CPGP Contract Management Intern (hence the 'industrial' next to my degree title) My first-year research project looked at the way game-based learning could be incorporated into Multi-Academy Trusts (aka MATs) to improve the academic attainment and classroom engagement of GCSE-year black students. My Leadership-in-Action project was with MakeSense and focused on empowering minority communities within Mexico City.

Hey everyone, I'm Phoebe !  I am an undergrad for Durham in the 2021 cohort.  My field of research is sociology looking at access to higher education programmes and widening participation. 

I am a graduate of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering at the University of Rwanda. I am also the STEM Subject Lead. My Laidlaw research project is about bringing a system that could help minimize the number of high-school and primary students who bring cell phones to school since it's one of the major sources of distraction. I did my Master's degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University Africa, majoring in Cybersecurity and Data Science.