The exceptional Gates scholars will join the College community in October.
Lucy Cavendish College is delighted to announce that three of its postgraduate offer-holders have been awarded the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, joining the 25th anniversary cohort in October 2025. This scholarship programme, established by a generous donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, supports academically outstanding and socially committed postgraduate students from outside the UK who wish to study at the University of Cambridge.
The Gates Cambridge Trust has selected 95 new scholars globally for this significant anniversary year, representing a diverse range of nationalities, backgrounds, and academic disciplines. Lucy Cavendish College is proud to welcome three such future leaders to its vibrant and international community.
Our three new Gates Cambridge Scholars-elect are:
Kalena Holeman (United States) will be undertaking an MPhil in Classics. Originally from Houston, Texas, Kalena is a mixed-race scholar with a keen interest in narratives of identity. Holding a BA in English Literature with minors in Classics and Creative Work from the University of Houston, Kalena has previously explored how Black artists engage with antiquity to reimagine art forms and critique historical whiteness in these spaces. At Cambridge, her MPhil research will intersect Black feminist theory and classical reception, examining how contemporary Black women writers across the African diaspora engage with Homer’s Odyssey to explore themes of home and movement through histories of oppression. She also aims to demonstrate how a Black feminist framework can offer new interpretations of the Homeric texts themselves. Kalena is honoured to join the Gates Cambridge community and looks forward to collaborating with like-minded scholars.
Minhee Lee (Republic of Korea) joins us to study for an MPhil in Linguistics and Language Sciences. Minhee completed her undergraduate degree in Linguistics at The University of Edinburgh, specialising in Experimental Pragmatics. Her fascination lies in how individuals, including young children, understand meaning beyond the literal through context, even without formal teaching. At Cambridge, Minhee will investigate the development of Theory of Mind in monolingual and bilingual children. This research will form the basis for future work involving neurodiverse children, with the goal of contributing to a better understanding of pragmatic development and improving communication strategies for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Jeremiah Oloyede (Nigeria) will pursue an MPhil in Industrial Systems, Manufacture, and Management. Growing up in Lagos, Nigeria, Jeremiah experienced firsthand the impact of unreliable electricity. Witnessing this issue halt a production line during an internship spurred him to challenge the status quo and explore decentralized energy solutions. His undergraduate research identified optimal zones for integrating renewable technologies into West Africa's grid, a framework now used for siting renewable energy sources across the West African power pool. Jeremiah’s professional experience includes working on solar technology projects, environmental satellite missions, and microgrid strategies for rural electrification. At Cambridge, he aims to develop innovative policies and engineering frameworks to bring cost-effective, in-house renewable energy to all Africans. He believes the Gates Cambridge Scholarship will provide the leadership skills needed to realise this vision.
Lucy Cavendish College is immensely proud of Kalena, Minhee, and Jeremiah's achievements and looks forward to welcoming them and supporting their impactful research journey at Cambridge.