Dary Phen graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Biological Science. She was the first Cambodian student to win the prestigious fully-funded King Scholarship at Dartmouth College. As a King Scholar, Dary received leadership training and exposure to organizations that were tackling poverty issues around the globe. During her college period, Dary actively became involved in medical research and public health. She interned at CARE, at Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) as a Research Intern, at DartMouth College’s Global Health Access as a Research Assistant, and at SPEECH Therapy as a SSTC Intern. Dary is now a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF Health in San Francisco. 

Born and raised in Phnom Penh city, Cambodia, Dary has witnessed how the medical system is still struggling to provide quality care to patients. With her interest in science and her desire to improve the healthcare system, she believes that her education at Dartmouth will help bring her closer to making real changes in Cambodia. 

​Having graduated high school as the top female scorer in the country on the National Exam, Dary used that opportunity to create her “Inspire 12” project which brought together top graders and approximately 200 student-participants to discuss ways to approach the exam. After that, she was awarded a platform to share her experience with another 2,000 students. On campus, Dary learned and developed her leadership skills with the Management and Leadership Development Program (MLDP). In addition, she served as a committee member in the Nathan Smith Society (NSS) at Dartmouth to give students platforms to learn more about important issues in the medical field.