QS Leadership Scholarship: 2016’s Winner

We’re pleased to announce that the winner of this year’s QS Leadership Scholarship is French student Tara Heuzé, who is preparing to study a Master of International Affairs at Columbia University in the United States.

Tara completed her bachelor’s degree at Sciences Po in Paris, and also spent time at the University of Cambridge, where she took part in the Essentials Dignity Campaign, a project organized by the Cambridge Hub and a local shelter in order to provide homeless women with sanitary products. When she returned to France, Tara was determined to continue contributing to this issue, recognizing the importance of making feminine hygiene products accessible for all women.

The ‘Règles élémentaires’ campaign

Drawing inspiration from her experience in Cambridge, Tara launched a campaign to collect sanitary products for homeless women, teaming up with Le Samusocial de Paris (a humanitarian emergency service). Her initial campaign started in Paris, not only as she was a student there, but also because the French capital is home to half of the country’s homeless population.

The campaign, dubbed Règles élémentaires (“Basic Rules”), was a massive success, with over 25,000 pads and tampons donated in less than three days, making a huge difference to the lives of thousands of women. The campaign is now being scaled-up nationwide, with 20 new collection spots set up at universities and businesses in seven different French cities. Tara says “the simple and honest message of the initiative deeply resonated with the French people”. The campaign is still growing, with many teachers asking about setting up similar campaigns in their schools as group projects for their students.

“The ongoing journey of Règles élémentaires convinced me that some the simplest ideas can have the greatest impact,” Tara says, adding that the positive response has demonstrated to her “that decisiveness, strong beliefs and a clear vision are quintessential components of successful endeavors.”

The leadership skills Tara showed in launching this campaign unsurprisingly impressed the QS judges, leading to her being chosen as the winner of the QS Leadership Scholarship (worth US$10,000 in tuition fees) to study her master’s abroad in the US.

From liberal arts to green finance

Tara’s wide-ranging studies at Sciences Po enabled her to discover what she’s most interested in pursuing at master’s level and for her future career: economic development and green finance. She chose to study at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) to specialize in this area and gain a broader exposure to professionals and academics in the field, and was also attracted by New York City’s long history of being at the forefront of international policy-making and socially responsible investing.

Tara explains, “As a student of SIPA, I will have the opportunity to follow classes such as ‘Global Economic Governance’ and ‘Environmental Finance’.  Therefore, I believe my time at Columbia will particularly help me plunge into environmental issues, consolidate the theoretical knowledge I have obtained at Cambridge and Sciences Po, while applying it to real-world scenarios.” Most importantly, she says: “the Columbia experience will perfect my training and will endow me with the tools, networks and career prospects necessary to infuse long-term, large-scale change.”

As well as helping Tara to manage the financial side of her studies, the QS Leadership Scholarship has also encouraged her to export the Règles élémentaires concept overseas to New York. She explains her goals: “While I wish to have a long-term global impact with my future career, I find it equally important to have a short-term local impact in everyday life. This explains why I launched the Règles élémentaires campaign last November.”

Advice for other scholarship-seekers

What advice would Tara offer to other students seeking a scholarship? “Be incredibly self-disciplined. Be prepared to spend sleepless nights working on essays, personal statements and study plans, but keep in mind it is worth it!” She also recommends being genuine, so that your application will truly reflect who you are – “when you’re invited to interviews and have as little as 20 minutes to present your life and projects, you’ll realize how important it is that the jury has a good understanding of your personality from the start.”

Finally, she suggests asking someone close to read your scholarship essays and give you feedback – who won’t mind reading 10 different versions of the same essay! “If you cannot think of anyone patient enough, do not hesitate to contact alumni of the scholarship program/s you’re applying to – more often than not they will be happy to share their experience and help you out!”