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 all, my name is Zachary Ferretti! I am a senior at Tufts University, pursuing a major in Political Science as well as a double minor in Economics and Urban Studies. My independent research takes a sorely needed look at the 1,4-dioxane water crisis on Long Island, New York. For my leadership-in-action project, I spent the summer in Mexico City, building strategies for environmental resilience and mobilizing urban communities to address issues of climate change.
I am always looking to exchange leadership tips and continue stengthening my relationships across the Laidlaw Network. I love meeting new people, so please don't hesitate to ever reach out!
I am an MPhil student in Comparative Government at Hertford College, Oxford. My research focusses on how energy sanctions shape trade dependencies among autocratic states, with a particular focus on the role of clandestine ’dark shipments’ of oil and liquid natural gas. I am keenly interested in political methodology and, in my thesis, hope to explore the application of machine learning and geospatial imaging techniques for the detection of illicit maritime trade.
My Laidlaw project ('Smelling the Coffee: Discursive Ecologies and Maximalist Moderation in an Alt-Right Reddit Community') used natural language processing and difference-in-difference analysis to assess the effects of interventionist digital platform regulation on online hate speech.
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.
Hi! I'm an undergraduate scholar from the University of Toronto and am interested in inclusion and mental health. With my research project, I hope to explore how we improve mental health support and treatments to make them more accessible and inclusive of Canadian Muslims. Beyond my research interests, I enjoy connecting with people and learning from people's diverse backgrounds and unique experiences. I'm a keen listener and love learning new things!
Hey there! 👋 I'm a first-year student at the University of Toronto who's into machine learning, astronomy, and research. Currently, I'm an intern researcher at the UC Berkeley SETI Research Center to build a high-performance detection algorithm to search the nearest 1 million stars for signs of life beyond Earth using the VLA telescope and the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa. When I'm not looking for aliens I love rock climbing, painting, and enjoying the outdoors!
Yusra Shafi
MSc Candidate, Columbia University (MSc) The University of Toronto, St. George (HBSc)
Hello! My name is Yusra, and I graduated from the University of Toronto, St. George, in 2023. I'm now currently doing my MSc. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University.
My Laidlaw research utilizes the concepts of Self-determination theory, and focused on analyzing the biggest barriers to a 'positive' university experience, possible solutions that can be enacted, and how all these factors influenced student mental health.
My work now spans the intersection of mental health, conflict resolution, and social justice. I work as a Case Manager at an anti-human trafficking organization, and also work in the climate justice space with Canadian civil society.