Dartmouth College · Class of 2029

Rithwan
Mohamed
Aden

Passionate about education, technology, and health — building solutions at the intersection of all three for communities that need them most.

Rithwan on Dartmouth campus
About me

Engineer.
Researcher.
Advocate.

Originally from Garissa, Kenya, I am a first-year student at Dartmouth College pursuing Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science.

I believe that education, technology, and health are inseparable — and that the communities most in need deserve solutions built with them, not just for them.

Languages

Fluent in
four languages

Bringing a global perspective rooted in East Africa to every project at Dartmouth and beyond.

English Swahili Somali Arabic
Lincoln Memorial World Bank Winter Carnival
Education & Leadership

Shaped by purpose

UMU Youth Organization · Garissa, Kenya
Founder & CEO
Nov 2023 – Present
Founded and lead a youth organization advocating for girls' education and women's rights in underserved communities. Led campaigns against FGM through seminars, community outreach, and awareness programs.
Zaari — Quality Learning Access App
Founder & CEO
Ongoing
Building Zaari, an app designed to bridge the digital learning gap by connecting students in underserved communities with quality educational resources and tools.
Davis Project for Peace · Garissa, Kenya
Grant Recipient — Digital Access Initiative
Feb 2026 – Present
Awarded a competitive Davis Project for Peace grant, working with CBC students to provide laptops, computers, and digital resources to bridge the technology gap in Garissa.
KenSAP · Kenya Scholars Access Program
KenSAP Scholar
June 2024 – June 2026
Selected for one of Africa's most prestigious college access programs, supporting high-achieving, low-income Kenyan students in gaining admission to elite North American universities.
Umusalama Girls' Secondary School · Garissa, Kenya
Chemistry & Biology Tutor
Jan – May 2024
Taught foundational biology and chemistry to over 400 students, reinforcing scientific reasoning and preparing them for national examinations.
A little about me

Beyond the résumé

Nature lover
Happiest when I'm outside — fresh air, open skies, and green spaces restore me like nothing else.
Future doctor
Pre-med is the dream. I want to combine engineering and medicine to serve patients in communities like the one I grew up in.
Dartmouth Stacks fan
Baker-Berry Library's stacks are my happy place on campus — something about being surrounded by all those books just hits different.
Boba obsessed
Strawberry boba and milkshake boba are non-negotiable. If you want to be my friend, boba is a good start.
Only child
Rare in Garissa — I'm the only kid in my family, which makes me equal parts independent and very spoiled (allegedly).
From Garissa, Kenya
Garissa shaped everything — my values, my drive, and my deep commitment to building for the communities I come from.
Fun fact
"Being an only child in Garissa is basically a plot twist — people are still recovering from the news."
Things I love

What makes me, me

Nature walks Strawberry boba Milkshake boba The Stacks Medicine Traveling Garissa The color blue
Experience

Technical work

Evergreen AI · Hanover, NH
Project Assistant — Mental Health AI
Oct 2025 – April 2026 · Hybrid
  • Trained AI systems focused on mental health awareness
  • Reviewed and entered structured dialogue data with accuracy
  • Supported quality control through documentation and revision
Dartmouth College
Minor in Computer Science
Sept 2025 – Present · Hanover, NH
  • Applying computational thinking to biomedical problems
  • Exploring intersections of software, data, and health systems
Courses taken
CS 1 CS 10 CS 50 CS 70
Projects

Built from scratch

UMU Youth Organization
Full-Stack Website
Designed and developed the complete UMU Youth Organization website — both front end and back end — to support advocacy for girls' education and community outreach in Garissa, Kenya.
Front + Back end
Zaari — Quality Learning Access App
Founder & Developer
Building Zaari, a learning access app designed to connect students in underserved communities with quality digital educational resources, bridging the technology gap in East Africa.
In progress
Skills

Technical toolkit

Programming
Database management
AI data training
Full-stack dev
Data entry & QC
Google Workspace
Microsoft Office
Collaborative problem-solving
Academic experience

Research & study

Dartmouth College
B.A. Biomedical Engineering
Sept 2025 – Present · Hanover, NH
  • Engineering principles combined with biological sciences
  • Minor in Computer Science with applications to health informatics
  • Focus on equity-centered design for underserved communities
Courses taken
Bio 12 Bio 14 Calculus III Intro to Physics Intro to Chemistry
Pioneer Academics · New York (Remote)
Student Researcher — Biomedical Engineering
Oct – Dec 2024
  • Highly selective college-level research program on cancer and diabetes
  • Collaborated with a team of five to design biomedical interventions
  • Proposed low-cost medical device improvements for chronic disease management
  • Focus on improving treatment access for underserved communities
Projects

Built to make an impact

Gylo — Patient-Doctor Translation App
Founder & Developer
Building Gylo, an app that bridges the language gap between patients and doctors in Garissa, Kenya — enabling real-time translation during medical consultations for communities where language barriers limit care.
In progress
Arthritis Support Hardware
Hardware Designer
Developing a low-cost hardware device to assist people living with arthritis — improving daily mobility and quality of life through accessible, affordable biomedical engineering.
In progress
Lincoln Memorial Lab work
Pioneer Academics

Biomedical research on
cancer & diabetes

Selected for Pioneer Academics — a highly competitive, college-level research program — to study disabling diseases including cancer and diabetes. Worked within a team of five to investigate biomedical engineering solutions with a focus on equity and access.

The program challenged me to think rigorously about how cutting-edge science translates into real interventions for communities that have historically been left behind by medical innovation.

Program
Pioneer Academics
Location
New York (Remote)
Period
Oct – Dec 2024
Team size
5 researchers
Key findings & contributions
01
Cancer & diabetes systems study
Completed in-depth study of biological and systemic mechanisms behind cancer and diabetes, building a foundation in disease pathology and the engineering challenges of treatment design.
02
Low-cost medical device proposals
Collaborated with a team of five to design and propose low-cost medical device improvements for chronic disease management — prioritizing affordability and accessibility for underserved communities.
03
Equity-centered intervention design
Framed all proposals around access — who benefits from existing medical technology, and how engineering design choices can expand or restrict that access.
"The communities most in need of medical innovation are often the least represented in the research that produces it."
Cancer biology Diabetes research Medical device design Equity in healthcare Collaborative research Low-cost interventions
Campus portrait Snow angel Kenya rain
Leadership & service

Creating pathways for others

From co-founding a youth organization in Garissa to mentoring international students at Dartmouth, community work is at the core of everything I do.

UMU Youth Organization · Garissa, Kenya
Co-founder & Chairperson
Nov 2023 – Present
Founded and lead a youth organization advocating for girls' education and women's rights in underserved communities. Led local initiatives against Female Genital Mutilation through seminars, posters, and community outreach campaigns across Garissa.
Davis Project for Peace · Garissa, Kenya
Grant Recipient — Digital Access Initiative
Feb 2026 – Present
Awarded a competitive Davis Project for Peace grant to work with CBC students — providing laptops, computers, and digital resources to bridge the technology gap in Garissa.
Dartmouth International Student Experience Office
Undergraduate International Student Mentor
April 2026 – Present
Provide peer mentorship to international undergraduate students, supporting their academic, social, and cultural transition to Dartmouth. Foster an inclusive environment by building trust with students from diverse backgrounds.
Campus involvement

Dartmouth organizations

Active member of organizations reflecting my commitment to engineering, innovation, and community on campus.

Society of Women in Engineering (SWE)
Women in Innovation (WIN)
Dartmouth Emerging Engineers
Dartmouth African Student Association (DASA)
First Year Summer Enrichment Program
Dartmouth selfie Winter Carnival Campus sculpture