Bachelor of Arts (Hons.), Geography • University of Newcastle
April 2022 - Congratulations to Lara Brooks, Angelica Chow, Elyse Muir, Alannah Hoops, and Xi Shao for their third place win (out of 43 entries) in the RBC x Rotman Sustainable Finance Case Competition!
Bio
Lara graduated from the University of Newcastle, England, in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Geography. She enjoyed elective courses in environmental science, weather systems and climate change, broadening her understanding of global climate and sustainability key trends and challenges. Lara particularly enjoyed Human Geography, specializing in economic and political theory, development and globalization. She completed a 10,000 word dissertation, which entailed travelling to Mumbai, India, to independently research the effects of globalization on the Mumbai Dabbawalas. Lara’s specific focus within sustainability more generally include the circular economy, ESG investing, sustainable supply chains and sustainable fashion.
Throughout university summers Lara has focused on gaining experience within Start-Ups and large Coporates, working across Sales, Marketing and Event Management. Whilst at university she joined a FinTech as a brand ambassador, promoting the app to students on campus and running numerous targeted events to increase app engagement. After graduating, she joined Thomas Tipple, an FMCG challenger brand, launching the company into stores such as Wholefoods, meeting with stakeholders and pitching to global retailers. Her work experience has shown her that while a corporate career in a traditional sector is enjoyable, she feels that the skill-set she has developed will be useful in helping companies to achieve Sustainable Development Goals, where her passion lies.
A large part of Lara’s time at university was spent playing for the women’s lacrosse first team, in addition to volunteering as the club’s social secretary (2017-18) and Vice President (2018-19). Furthermore, she was voted onto the university’s student council board, athletics union board and finance committee, representing 25,000 students. Lara also loved working as a barista at a local café, interacting with the local community outside of the University.
Lara’s love of new cultures and languages led her to Seville, where she worked as a marketing intern for a language academy. When the pandemic hit Lara returned home and wanted to help locally, joining the UK’s National Health Service. Though challenging, she greatly enjoyed fielding emergency calls from the public, dispatching ambulances and completing medical assessments. Alongside this Lara has been working at Door-Prop, a prop-tech app looking to reshape London’s rental landscape, adding to her entrepreneurial skill set.
Through travelling, documentaries, reading and podcasts, she has furthered her knowledge of complex issues surrounding sustainability and hopes to make a real difference at a local and global level. Currently, Lara runs a ‘Slow-Fashion’ Instagram page to raise awareness of waste within the fashion industry; also selling upcycled jumpers directly to consumers through the shopping app Depop. In addition to this, she is currently working on a social enterprise that sells t-shirts to raise money for the Mediterranean refugee crisis. As a keen athlete she enjoys tennis, skiing, running half marathons and lacrosse.
Lara's MScSM Internship: SiMPACT Strategy Group
(Download full poster here)