Dary Phen graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Biological Science. She is now a Clinical Research Coordinator at UCSF Health in San Francisco. 

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 tackling poverty issues around the globe. During college, 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 an SSTC Intern. 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.

​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.

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