Washington University in St. Louis senior Elijah Darden has been selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which fully funds postgraduate study and research at the University of Cambridge.
Darden is majoring in psychological and brain sciences and minoring in music, both in Arts & Sciences. He is a member of the Rodriguez Scholars program and president of WashU’s Emergency Support Team (EST), the student-run 24/7 emergency medicine organization.
At Cambridge, he plans to earn a master’s degree in population health sciences. He expects to then return to the U.S. to attend medical school.
“I aim to use the expertise gained from my academic coursework alongside my experiential background to improve health equity by pursuing evidence-based interventions, research and policy that utilize health education and behavior change,” Darden wrote in his application.
Under Darden’s leadership, EST — which responds to 400 calls annually — became a leading provider of public health education on campus and in the St. Louis community. He made training programs more accessible and affordable to WashU students, staff and faculty members. In total, EST has certified roughly 800 WashU community members in CPR.
In addition, EST introduced “Stop the Bleed” classes in partnership with WashU Emergency Management, and expanded active bystander training for the broader WashU community. Darden’s efforts have been recognized by the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation, which named WashU a HeartSafe Campus for the first time in university history, and the Missouri Public Health Association, which awarded EST the Group Merit Award for its significant contribution to public health in Missouri.
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the Gates Cambridge Scholarship draws a cohort of 80 top scholars from across the globe, including 25 from the United States. Scholars are selected based on their outstanding intellectual and leadership abilities and their commitment to improving the lives of others. The scholarship was established in 2000 through a $210 million donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
