Noor Dewood

At Cornell University, students across disciplines are passionate about changing the world. Open to first- and second-year students, the Laidlaw Leadership and Research and Program provides generous support for student research, offers hands-on leadership development and reflection, and encourages students to reinvest their knowledge to help others succeed. Laidlaw Scholars are part of an international network of like-minded leaders.

Hi! I'm Sophia, an aspiring scientist and philomath. I love learning about everything and anything and delight in spending time with people who are passionate about the things they love! I am really interested and curious about how we can use chemistry to improve processes and products to help society. For example, my research project is looking into the possibility of turning struvite, a mineral which is a by-product of waste-water treatment processes into slow-release nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers, which would be a green source nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers and help achieve goals of zero-waste.  If you are researching something similar or are interested in learning more about the project, please reach out! I am super happy to talk about the project and meet other who are doing something similar and possibly collaborate! 

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

Hi all! My name is Dylan Carson and I am a rising Junior/third year studying Government and Linguistics. I'm very interested in the factors causing democratic-backsliding , international relations, and how languages influences not only our cultures but our policy making. In my first Laidlaw summer, I traveled to Ecuador as my LiA where I will spend 6 weeks engaging in environmental restoration, intercultural leadership, and learning more about decolonizing theories with the Pachaysana Foundation.  In my second Laidlaw summer, I served as a research assistant in the Sustaining Paradise project led by Professor Chiara Formichi. The project focuses on Bali, Indonesia, where tourism-led development is actively destroying green spaces. We examined how Hindu-Bali religious and spiritual beliefs can be mobilized for environmental restoration in this touristic context. I'm looking to continuing this work in Fall 2026!  At Cornell, I've participated in the Student Government Assembly as a student representative, am part of an Improv theater group and play in the marching band. In the future, I'd like to get more involved in international relations/government related groups and opportunities as I'm interested in a career in foreign relations. I enjoy speaking languages and am currently learning French (advanced) and Spanish (beginning).  For fun, I love taking hikes, going out to new restaurants, playing baseball, watching sit-coms, and reading.  If anyone wants to say hello, feel free to email me at dpc227@cornell.edu! Hoping to meet you all in person!