Humans of Hanover

Heya Shah ’26, Mumbai, India “My interest in the intersectionality of gender, class, and religion in the developing world brings me to Dartmouth.

I want to understand how public policy shapes the lives of women. The modified majors at Dartmouth will let me explore women's, gender, and sexuality studies and government simultaneously, while the D-Plan’s flexibility will help me combine academics with public policy experience through the Rockefeller Internship and First-Year

Fellows Programs. I look forward to relaxing on the Green, studying in the stacks, and being part of Dartmouth’s collaborative and close-knit community next year.” Ryan Alves Rocha ’26, Três Corações, Brazil “At PINE Restaurant, Professor Michele Tine and I will engage in an exciting conversation about her research on the impacts of poverty on schooling. Then, I’ll head to the Dickey Center, where I’ll explore the intersection of schooling and public policies through my Human

Development Fellowship. I’ll end the day walking to

McLaughlin, excited to eat brigadeiros with the Brazilian

Society and certain that Dartmouth is the close-knit intellectually-driven community I’ve always longed for as a first-generation college student.” Mahina Damon ’26, Honolulu, HI “Dartmouth’s intimate scale enables the kind of inclusive, supportive community that I hope to join. My primary goal is to learn from one of the top Indigenous Studies programs our country has to offer. I also hope to enroll in classes taught by Professor N. Bruce Duthu in Native

American law and policy and to join the Native American

Program to broaden my Native community. I would also love to join the Dartmouth Outing Club, attempt to conquer backcountry skiing, and engage with professors over lunch at PINE.”

Brennan Welsh ’26, Lake Charles, LA “After classes with Professor Randall Balmer, my favorite author, and immersing myself in LGBTQ+ courses like ’Evangelicalism’ and ’Getting It: Sex and Religion,’ I will be equipped to study the complex relationship between modern Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community. With

Dartmouth’s D-Plan, I can travel the world to research how these communities interact. Whether I’m trying to ski or ordering level-ten spiciness at Base Camp Cafe, no day of research will be complete without the New

Hampshire air pushing me out of my comfort zone.” Chadani Timsina ’26, Syracuse, NY “Dartmouth’s mission to provide an unparalleled education to students regardless of their financial limitations and backgrounds appeals to me. Everyone deserves access to a rigorous education no matter their identity or income. As an activist who fights for racial equality but also understands the importance of self-care,

Dartmouth’s emphasis on student physical, social, and mental well-being delights me. Dartmouth’s willingness to take action makes me want to join the picturesque community and collectively fight for equity and justice.” Joanna Jou ’26, El Paso, TX “Dartmouth feels like home. Coming from a small school, I value Dartmouth’s tight-knit community. I’ll be surrounded and engaged in endless conversations that continuously celebrate multi-dimensional intellectual curiosity. I’m excited to invite Professor Witters to lunch at PINE, where

I’ll ask him to be my mentor as we connect over what shapes human biology. I’ll find myself exploring health inequalities while interning at DPCS Community Health and guiding future Dartmouth Bound participants through creating their own Dartmouth.”

Felipe Pavanelli ’26, Campo Grande, Brazil “As I cross the Green to get to Professor Whaley’s language revitalization class, I reflect on how to apply his resources to my research on endangered indigenous languages in Brazil.

My D-Plan’s versatility enlightens me as I merge my passions in MUS 17.06: The Language-Music Connection. After lunch, I discuss study abroad possibilities with my Brazilian mates. Dartmouth’s environment makes the college experience even more paradoxical: unknown, yet familiar; diverse, yet close-knit. It is the place I can both mature and become the researcher I aspire to be.” Chelsea Mills ’26, North Potomac, MD “I imagine myself engrossed in a discussion about

Hellenistic and Roman philosophy with Professor

Margaret Graver as we dine in ’53 Commons. I'm also eager to paddle along the Connecticut River with my friends on a People of Color Outdoors trip. My night will conclude in the Shabazz Center with peers who share an interest in African heritage. Each day will illustrate the belief reiterated during Dartmouth Bound: my socialcultural background and academic interests will be celebrated by the Dartmouth community.” Matt Catrambone ’26, Chester, NJ “Whether I’m working in the Empower Lab or riding up the

Dartmouth Skiway quad with friends, the spirit is contagious. At Dartmouth, I’ve redefined my childhood dream of becoming Jack Bauer’s human-computer. Instead,

I’m tackling a more personal mission: using analytical skills learned in my engineering major to support social good. Employing sifting techniques I learned in 'Data

Wrangling,' I build models to make civic engagement accessible. I’m part of Thayer’s ’do-er’ culture, pursuing tough questions to strengthen the Hanover community.”

DARTMOUTH IS DEFINED BY ITS PEOPLE, SO WE’RE EXCITED TO CELEBRATE THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY. IN EXCERPTS FROM THEIR “WHY DARTMOUTH” ESSAYS, STUDENTS FROM THE CLASS OF 2026 SHARE WHAT DREW THEM TO THE COLLEGE.

Ellie Rodgers ’26, Nashville, TN “As an aspiring neuroscientist who is passionate about linguistics, music, and art history, I know that Dartmouth will enrich each aspect of my life. Some days you’ll find me in LING 35 studying the structure of language or in the Hood curating its permanent collection in Museum

Collecting 101. Outside the classroom, I’ll be conducting research sponsored by the Women in Science Project in Brad Duchaine’s Social Perception Center, practicing a

Chopin nocturne during my piano lesson at the Hop, or embracing Hanover’s beauty on the ski slopes.” Dickson Alexander ’26, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania “Dartmouth’s commitment to undergraduate studies through its liberal arts curriculum is unparalleled. I hope to explore areas of study other than my major and utilize the D-Plan to pursue internships and research fellowships at any time of year. Additionally, Dartmouth’s small student body and its 7:1 student-faculty ratio will create a comfortable learning environment that will enable me to build strong relationships with my professors and fellow students. Lastly, I hope to take full advantage of the university’s rural location through the Outing Club.” Catherine Jewitt ’26, Emerald Hills, CA “Dartmouth is the opportunity to bask in the beauty of advanced math; to discover seemingly insignificant details in a complex tangle of history and share them with fellow Outing Club-goers on the Appalachian Trail.

It’s the opportunity to laugh, cry, and freeze my butt off for the sake of learning alongside (temporary) strangers with a shared passion for exploring life to its limits. Most importantly, Dartmouth is the opportunity to smell the pines, stoke that Dartmouth Night bonfire, and grin at how far its flames will carry me.”

Pictured: Inside the clock tower of Baker Library

All Things Be

PHOTOGRAPH BY NAME ing Equal

DHWANI KHAREL ’22

HOMETOWN: BROOKINGS, SD MAJOR: GOVERNMENT; MINOR: PUBLIC POLICY

When gender equality advocate Dhwani Kharel ’22 learned she’d been named a recipient of the Truman Scholarship—the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for students pursuing careers as public service leaders—she was speechless, but strategic. “I care deeply about improving the lives of women,” says Dhwani, who will use her scholarship to cover the full cost of attending law school. “Every domain of public life, from healthcare to education, is touched by the inequalities that women face.”

Dhwani’s academic pursuits in government and public policy are inextricably tied to her passion for women’s rights. “Economic justice is a huge part of any women’s rights agenda. If women don’t have access to economic opportunities, it really limits what they can do in any other area,” she says. Dhwani teamed up with Associate Professor of Government Deborah Brooks to help expand the International Menstrual Health Entrepreneurship Roundup (IMHER), a website that aggregates information on global menstrual health education for low-income girls and women around the world. Dhwani also has been an active member of Dartmouth’s Sexual Assault Peer Alliance since her first year, serving as an empowerment-based resource for peers affected by sexual or gender-based violence.

Dhwani’s government major has led her to explore other avenues for advocacy. Through Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, she was paired with an alumni mentor for an internship at the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C. to study congressional behavior. Amid all she learned, it was the living-learning experience of her internship that Dhwani appreciated the most. “While living in D.C. for ten weeks with 20 other Dartmouth first-year students, I made so many new friends. I think that goes to show just how much Dartmouth’s programs support students not only in the classroom, but in other realms of their life.”

Now a senior, Dhwani is hard at work on her thesis about the political theory of care ethics and its impact on healthcare, education, and other aspects of public life. “When we think about care, we often think about childcare, but it’s a lot broader than that. I’m interested in studying a theory that emphasizes dependent relationships between people and thinking about how governments should apply it to create better social infrastructure.”

Dhwani credits her first-year Living-Learning Community (LLC)—a residential community that emphasizes interdisciplinary growth—with setting her on the path to success. “I grew up in South Dakota, which is not a diverse area at all, but my Thriving Through Transitions LLC was one of the most diverse spaces I entered at Dartmouth. All of my closest friends are people that I met there. They reassured me that I’d find my place here, and my time at Dartmouth wouldn’t be the same without them.”

JOSE HERNANDEZ BARBOSA ’23

HOMETOWN: OAK LAWN, IL MAJOR: COMPUTER SCIENCE

& XIA ZHOU

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

JOSE HERNANDEZ BARBOSA ’23 WAS SEARCHING FOR RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES THAT WOULD COMBINE HIS INTERESTS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND BIOLOGY WHEN HE MET ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMPUTER SCIENCE XIA ZHOU. TOGETHER, THE PAIR HAVE BEEN WORKING IN PROFESSOR ZHOU’S LAB TO DEVELOP A MEDICAL DEVICE THAT MEASURES GLUCOSE LEVELS WITH LIGHT SENSORS. JOSE AND PROFESSOR ZHOU SAT DOWN WITH US TO REFLECT ON THEIR PARTNERSHIP AND THE PROGRESS THEY’VE MADE SO FAR.

Tell us more about the medical device you’re developing and why you’re miniaturizing it.

Professor Zhou: The goal of our project is to design a noninvasive method for measuring the glucose levels of diabetic patients using laser light. Right now, the mainstream method of measuring glucose levels is invasive and painful. When you shine light on the skin and measure the reflection of the light—as well as the changes in the properties of the reflected light—you can use it to infer the glucose level under the skin. We built a prototype with a glucose sensor last year that we are now in the process of miniaturizing. Jose has been helping scale down the system into a smaller and more wearable device.

Jose: Yes, and I’ve been working on the interaction between patients and the sensor itself using a mobile Android app. I’ve been introduced to microprocessors and embedded systems; right now, I’m working on how our microprocessor interacts with our Android app. It’s been really fun sharing code and fixing up the app itself. I’m getting real life experience working with Professor Zhou in ways that I never thought I could.

What are the respective paths you’ve each taken to get to this project?

Jose: I originally thought I would be a biomedical engineering major, but my first computer science course was life changing for me—I had never taken a course where I was excited to go back home and do homework. I really love coding and the fact that computer science can be used to solve problems. I started thinking about research when I applied for the E.E. Just Undergraduate Fellowship Program, which supports students from underrepresented backgrounds with funding for research projects. One of my computer science professors pointed me to Professor Zhou’s lab. I thought her research was a great intersection of my two interests, so I reached out to her via email.

Professor Zhou: My research area is in mobile computing in general, and my recent focus has been on the use of light to enable data communication and sensing. Sensing is a broad topic—it includes human sensing, like measuring the glucose levels of diabetic patients, and physical sensing, like measuring eye movements. The goal is to take advantage of the ubiquity of light around us to add additional functionality to the environment.

Fast forward a few years. Where do you hope to see yourselves and this project in the future?

Professor Zhou: The ultimate goal is to design a closed-loop system for diabetic patients that can sense your diet continuously, measure glucose levels noninvasively, and automatically adjust insulin deliveries to the body. Hopefully, we can wrap up the prototype and conduct a pilot study with actual diabetic patients to understand the reliability of the sensing results. It might be difficult to completely replace existing devices, but we’re realizing the benefits of a low-cost, portable alternative.

Jose: This research project has allowed me to see a bunch of new ways to connect computer science to the real world. This past summer, I had a software engineering internship at Google. After graduation, I’ll probably go into software engineering at a startup or at a big company to further figure out what I want to learn before potentially applying to graduate school.

What’s special about doing research at Dartmouth in particular?

Professor Zhou: Dartmouth students are quick, independent learners. You can give them high-level guidance and they will be able to find solutions. I am really glad to see the number of options available on campus to support undergraduate research. The E.E. Just Fellowship is one avenue, but there are multiple funding sources available through Undergraduate Research and Advising.

Jose: I think any student can do research at Dartmouth. I’m also amazed by the amount of money and funding that Dartmouth gives students to do research. I get $1,600 in funding each term to do research part-time with my professor as an E.E. Just Fellow. I heard about the program from my mentor in the First-Year Student Enrichment Program (FYSEP), another key program that supports first-generation low-income students at Dartmouth. The whole point of the E.E. Just Program is to build a community of students from historically underrepresented backgrounds within their areas of study. It really helps students step into the world of research and potential future professions.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN Pictured: Outside House Center A, a student-centered social and study space