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Christina will embark on the interdisciplinary MPhil in Conservation Leadership

A cohort of academically outstanding and socially committed scholars has been selected to be part of the 2021 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge in the Scholarship’s 20th anniversary year. 74 new scholars will be joined by up to 10 scholars who are deferring from 2020, to form a class of 84 this October.

The Scholars-elect, who will take up their awards this October, are from a wide range of backgrounds and come from 30 countries. They are studying subjects ranging from post-violence narratives of resistance and the development of contextually relevant curricula and pedagogy with marginalised schools and communities to clean energy access and development and the transportation of nucleic acids into cellular environments.

Joining Lucy Cavendish College is Christina Meister, who will study an MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the Department of Geography.

Christina first became interested in the intersection between social and environmental justice while working as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the Ocean State Environmental Education Collaborative. At AmeriCorps, she was responsible for teaching environmental science to youth in hospitals, assisted living facilities, and after school programs. Her experience working with underserved groups taught her the importance of community-based conservation and inspired her to study environmental science at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Today, Christina leads outreach initiatives that help protect human rights and endangered species on a global level. She is particularly passionate about ensuring the health and safety of indigenous communities while working with others to end the illegal wildlife trade. 

She says: “I am excited to join the University of Cambridge Masters in Conservation Leadership program because it is the only academic course in the world that offers an interdisciplinary focus on biology while teaching management skills that are essential for the next generation of conservation leaders. As a Gates Cambridge Scholar, I look forward to working with others to protect people and wildlife throughout the world.”

About Gates Cambridge

The prestigious postgraduate scholarship programme – which fully funds postgraduate study and research in any subject at the University of Cambridge – was established through a US$210 million donation to the University of Cambridge from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000; this remains the largest single donation to a UK university. Since the first class in 2001, Gates Cambridge has awarded 1,932 scholarships to scholars from 111 countries who represent more than 600 universities globally (more than 200 in the USA) and more than 80 academic departments and all 31 Colleges at Cambridge.

In addition to outstanding academic achievement the programme places an emphasis on social leadership in its selection process. The programme’s aim is to create a global network of future leaders committed to improving the lives of others.

The full class of 2021 will join current Gates Cambridge Scholars in October to form a community of approximately 240 current Scholars in residence at the world-leading University of Cambridge.

Read the Gates Scholars official press release here.

*Full bios and photos of the Scholars-elect are available from their Directory page.