Saint Lucian mental health advocate and poet Khadijah Ashanna Halliday has been awarded the Cambridge Caribbean Scholarship to pursue a Master of Philosophy in Foundations of Clinical Psychology at the University of Cambridge this October.
She is one of only a handful of Caribbean students accepted into this world-renowned programme – a testament to both her academic excellence and unwavering commitment to mental health advocacy.
Halliday, a former student of St Joseph’s Convent and Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, recently graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio with highest honours in psychology, the only student in the Class of 2025 to receive this rare distinction, with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She also completed a second major in creative writing and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most prestigious academic honour society in the United States.
“There have definitely been moments when I felt like I didn’t belong or wasn’t enough,” Halliday said. “But I’m learning to hold space for those feelings without letting them stop me. This scholarship reminds me that my work and my voice have value.”
Her work sits at the intersection of psychology, social justice and Caribbean identity. Her honours thesis – Does Stereotype Threat Contribute to Empathy Performance in Autistic Individuals? – explored how harmful stereotypes affect the psychological and emotional responses of autistic people. The study highlighted the need for more inclusive and affirming research approaches, a theme that mirrors Halliday’s broader commitments to equity in mental health.
At Oberlin, she was selected for the Oberlin College Research Fellowship and awarded the William T. Battrick Poetry Fellowship in 2024. Her creative work, often centred on themes of Caribbean identity, transparency and self-revelation, has been published in regional literary magazines and featured in spoken word showcases.
Halliday was also a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and received offers from both Oxford and Cambridge. She ultimately chose Cambridge due to its strong clinical psychology programme and the support of the Cambridge Trust and Caribbean Scholarship, which help students from the region access world-class education.
Looking ahead, Halliday is focused on giving back: “I am committed to using the knowledge and experience gained to contribute meaningfully to youth development and mental health support in Saint Lucia and the wider Caribbean,” she said. “I want to help create a future in which people, especially young and neurodivergent individuals, can see themselves, heal themselves, and reimagine what safety and liberation feels like.”
