Hi, I'm Lorena Rodriguez, a sophomore at Cornell University studying Industrial and Labor Relations. I'm passionate about law, public service, and supporting communities that face barriers to accessing legal and educational resources. Over the past year, I've sought out opportunities that align with those interests. I volunteer as an ESL tutor with Friends of Farmworkers, where I teach English to Spanish-speaking farmworkers in one-on-one virtual sessions. I also serve as the organization's Social Media Chair, creating content and outreach strategies to increase engagement and connect more students with our mission. This summer, I'm completing my Leadership-in-Action project in Tabasco, Mexico, where I'm shadowing a Municipal Administrative Judge. Through this experience, I've observed how local disputes are resolved and gained insight into a different legal system while also learning about public service.

My name is Ishaan Jordan, and I am a student at Georgetown University pursuing a major in Government alongside a minor in Tech, Ethics, and Society. Driven by a passion for public service, leadership, and systemic change, my academic and extracurricular focus centers on how policy and emerging technologies intersect to shape a more equitable world. Through the Laidlaw Scholars Program, my primary objective is to conduct research that examines the ethical implications of technology in governance, specifically how algorithmic decision-making impacts civic trust. Furthermore, I am eager to immerse myself in Laidlaw’s leadership development track, refining the skills necessary to lead with integrity, empathy, and clarity. Outside of my academic commitments, I love to stay active and explore the city. I'm a huge fan of the NBA, and I love watching and playing just about any sport. Fitness is a core part of my daily routine, and you can usually find me training at the gym or unwinding by going on long walks to take in nature and clear my head. In my free time, I enjoy trying new coffee shops and restaurants. 

Hi! I'm Josie, a second-year student at the University of St Andrews. My research project focuses on Ireland's relationship with Spain, centring on its struggle to legitimise itself culturally, religiously, and historically in the face of colonialism, and how this led to the emergence of an Irish national consciousness. It focuses on the mythological origin stories of Ireland. As a student of both Medieval History and Spanish, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to combine two subjects I'm passionate about into a research project!

Hi everyone, my name is Jayden! I'm entering my third-year at the University of Toronto, studying Environmental Health and Disease. My research and academic interests lie within digital health and emerging technologies, and this summer, I'll be researching AI implementation in healthcare.  I also love to read, talk about music, and go for drives! I'm looking forward to meeting everyone! 

Hello! My name is Maiwenn, I am a rising junior at Tufts University studying Biopsychology. I am deeply interested in community health research, particularly strategies that help bridge gaps created by socioeconomic barriers. Through this interest, I hope to learn more about the factors that influence patient adherence and health outcomes. In my free time, I enjoy pursuing my faith, singing, spending time with friends and family, and exploring different facets of the medical field.

Hi everyone! I am a rising sophomore at Tufts University in Boston, studying biology and environmental science. I am originally from Cape Town, South Africa, and attended high school in Louisiana. For my research summer, I am working in Tanzania as a part of a coral restoration project, conducting my own experiment to identify which coral species will be most resilient during this year's upcoming El Niño event with rising sea temperatures. I will also be exploring how to make the coral gardening process more cost-effective and accessible to coastal East African fishing communities. 

Hello! My name is Alexander Wayne and I am a second year Philosophy and English student at the University of Toronto, Victoria College. My research focuses on autotheoretical transgender pornography and legislative studies, focusing on highlighting trans stories in our own voices. I am so excited to be apart of the Laidlaw Scholars Network and can't wait to get to know people - please feel free to reach out! 

Hello there! I'm Presto, a first-year Environmental Science student at the University of Leeds. I am still immersing myself in different disciplines of Environmental Science, such as Hydrology, Ecology, Geology, Meteorology, Oceanography, etc... but my self-defined research project stemmed from my upbringing in Myanmar.  Coming from Mandalay, Myanmar, I had been exposed to political conflict driving multiple humanitarian crises, including internal and external displacement, inflation, and human rights violations. However, my interest lies in how armed conflict can quietly accelerate environmental degradation, a relationship that remains poorly quantified in Myanmar.  My research is a spatiotemporal analysis to examine the impacts on the environment in Central Myanmar between 2020 and 2024, and to explore if these changes intersect with escalations of armed conflict patterns. Outside my academic pursuits, I feel at home practising music, from songwriting, playing instruments, to singing. I try to be an inspired and creative person by travelling. I have been privileged enough to travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Qatar, across the UK, and have lived in Thailand and Vietnam since moving out of my country. I'd love to connect with fellow Laidlaw scholars. 

Hi I'm Freddie, a student in PPE at Durham University with particular interests in British Political history and the development of its constitution.  I am excited to express this in my research project, focusing on the impact of formalised political parties on voter partisanship and the incumbency effect. Whilst contributing to the development of an existing dataset containing parliamentary election data from 1832 onwards, I am aiming to perform data-driven alaysis to evaluate Britain's shift from a candidate-based political tradition towards the dominance of party labels. Outside of my studies, I am a keen church bellringer, an avid reader, and enjoy exploring new places.

Hi everyone! My name is Phoebe Matthew, and I am a rising sophomore at Columbia University majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior and possibly minoring in Computer Science. My research this summer in the Siegelbaum Lab at the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute explores the role of the ventral CA1 excitatory neurons in the hippocampus, which are known to receive signals from the CA2 region that is heavily implicated in social memory, in valence associated social memory. This type of memory is not only the recognition of a familiar individual but also the memory of how that individual made you feel. Social memory is impaired in several neuropsychiatric disorders, and it is essential to understand how the mechanism behind it to inform possible therapeutics. Beyond the lab, I am a volunteer at a local memory care facility through Brain Exercise Initiative, a writer for Grey Matters (campus neuroscience journal), and involved in Columbia Synapse (traumatic brain injury advocacy group). I also recently got certified as an EMT. I am passionate about brain health advocacy/awareness, science communication, and service. In my free time, I enjoy painting, crafting, reading, and playing the ukulele. I would love to meet everyone, so please do not hesitate to reach out!   

I'm a second year MEng Chemical Engineering student at Imperial College London. My Laidlaw project compares electrification and CCUS pathways for industrial decarbonisation, supervised by Dr. Bakkaloglu at Imperial. Last year I coordinated a project across four universities with Rolls-Royce SMR on integrating high temperature gas reactors with desalination and ammonia production.  Before Imperial I took a gap year and backpacked through 50+ countries solo, mostly on overland routes. That is where my emerging markets focus came from.