ADC

Off to UPenn! Meet Dotun. Born in Abuja, Nigeria, and now living in Springfield, Virginia, Dotun is a highly motivated student whose experiences growing up in Nigeria shaped her dedication to medicine and public health. While in Nigeria, she observed firsthand the disparities in healthcare, particularly for women—black women are two to three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women, and only 3.8% of physicians in the U.S. are Black women. These realities sparked her passion for medicine, health equity, and ensuring that vulnerable populations receive quality care.
With a 4.4 GPA and a course load filled with AP and advanced classes—including AP Physics, Multivariable Calculus, AP Biology, AP Literature, AP Government, and Language of Medicine—Dotun is committed to both academic rigor and intellectual curiosity. She is a member of the French, Math, and National Honor Societies, contributing through scholarship, tutoring, and service to her peers.
Leadership has been a defining feature of Dotun’s high school career. She served in class leadership for three years, helping plan school events and welcoming new students to the community. She was elected as a Student Superintendent Advisory Council (SAC) Officer for both her junior and senior years, advising the superintendent on student concerns and educational equity. Moreover, she helped craft a plan that was presented to the superintendent on equity in ESOL student education. Dotun also serves as Co-President of the African Student Union, promoting cultural pride, inclusion, and awareness among her peers.
Her passion for public health and research is evident through her projects and internships. Dotun authored an original research article on the intersection between mental health and the opioid epidemic, which is currently being reviewed with support from the Fairfax County Health Department and the Head Of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Epidemiology. She presented this research at the Global Health Leaders Conference at Johns Hopkins University, sharing her findings with professors, public health professionals, and peers. She completed the AEOP STEM Foundations Program during the summer and serves as a Research and Publication Intern at Eastern TV Broadcasting, where she synthesizes complex scientific topics into articles for broader audiences.
Service and advocacy are central to Dotun’s identity. She volunteers at her church nursery, caring for children and supporting families, and at a physical therapy clinic, gaining experience in patient care and rehabilitation. As a member of the Student Human Rights Commission, she has worked on initiatives to ensure equity in education, including a plan addressing disparities faced by ESOL students, which was formally presented to the superintendent. Her advocacy highlights her dedication to justice, equity, and student voice.
Beyond academics and service, Dotun demonstrates excellence in extracurriculars and leadership. She is the co-captain of both her school’s Varsity Cheer and Varsity Gymnastics teams, inspiring her peers with discipline and teamwork. As a Fairfax County Public Health Youth Ambassador, she designed and implemented a community health project on opioid use in adolescence, which placed in the top 20 and was presented at Georgetown University. Recognizing her exceptional contributions, she was invited to join the Public Health Youth Ambassador newsletter team, working alongside two college students to contribute research, projects, and initiatives to the broader community. She also holds extensive experience as a certified lifeguard, maintaining multiple certifications for three years, and is a certified pool operator. Additionally, she launched the KidJoy Project, a passion initiative bringing moments of joy to hospitalized children, reflecting her compassion and creativity.
In her free time, Dotun enjoys shopping, walking in nature, and exploring new experiences with friends and family. She is deeply committed to using her leadership, research, and advocacy to make a meaningful impact on health equity, public health, and her community.

Off to UMich! Meet Ryiee Michael, a senior at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School. She was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and is greatly involved in her school and broader community.
Ryiee has always had a strong passion for healthcare and service. Her passion for helping those in need inspired her to create a UNICEF Club. Her role as President includes raising awareness about the issues of poverty and hunger in her school community and collecting funds for children around the world. Currently, she is a member of her school’s French Honor Society and National Honor Society, and has been placed on her school’s Head’s List for each semester. Ryiee’s involvement in her school community continues to show through her position as the Co-President of Math Squad, a club that helps kindergarten and fourth-grade students on her school’s Lower School Campus practice and perfect their basic math skills through various games. Ryiee has always had a great interest in math, which led her to become a Student Tutor for geometry, advanced and regular algebra 1 and 2, and pre-calculus. She is currently the Math Scheduling Coordinator of her school’s Student Tutors Program, in which she pairs students and tutors across 12 math courses. Ryiee also enjoys the arts and is a part of the Stage One Theater Company at her school. Her role as a Lighting/Light Board Operator includes lifting, hanging, and adjusting lights, helping plan over 100 lighting cues, and operating spot lights and the light board for the fall plays and spring musicals.
Ryiee’s passionate about social justice, and serves as a member of her school’s Student Committee of Racial Equity. As an Equity Ambassador, she helps facilitate the Annual Middle School Diversity Conference, during which she teaches middle school students about the importance of diversity through creative workshops. She also educates her school community about current world issues and events through forums and creates informative posters for the committee’s bulletin board. Outside of school, she was involved in the LearnServe Fellows Program. In this entrepreneurship program, she spent seven months researching and developing a project to spread awareness and combat the growing issue of food insecurity in Tigray, Ethiopia. She created and shared flyers detailing her project, and is continuing to develop it to create an impact in her home country.
Ryiee is also heavily involved in service. She is currently a part of the Arts Program for the nonprofit organization Cancer Kids First, where she designs digital and handmade cards featuring words of encouragement and specialized drawings for youth
cancer patients. She also volunteers with ALIVE!, where she helps put together food packages and distributes them to those struggling with food insecurity. Ryiee also enjoys spending her free time with family and friends, reading, and watching movies.

Off to Syracuse! Meet Meklet. An Ethiopian American born and raised in Maryland. She is a determined student who pushes herself to try new things such as joining the school film club, helping create her school year book, taking multiple AP and honors classes and more. She is a student that works hard to maintain her 4.53 GPA.
Meklet's love for women's empowerment is seen through her school club that she is the president of. She has been in EmpowHER for all her highschool year and has worked to help with the fundraisers, the menstrual product drive, funding club trips and helping members of the club be better educated on the current world news that constantly impacts women.
Meklet’s interest in business and entrepreneurship can be seen throughout the programs and clubs she’s been in. She has been in a Girls with Impact program that helped her take an idea and bring that concept to life through classes with a professor, feedback, conversations with peers in that program and more. She was able to take an idea of a scented lotion brand that is made with cleaner ingredients, and over the course of ten weeks, eventually create a prototype, a mock website, and a presentation on her plan for that business in the next two years. She has also applied for a program under Harvard’s Academy lessons where she was taught about business management and along with a team, attempted to solve a problem going on with the failing businesses in harvard square. She and her team used what they learned and were able to use the best fit strategy to get more money for a struggling business. She has also been apart of the Junior Achievement Finance Park where she had a global problem that varied each year from homelessness, to climate, and she worked to create a solution to these problems. She then competed along with others' solutions and presented her intervention to a large crowd. Through these programs she has been on stages multiple times using her voice to spread awareness on problems all over the world and solutions.
Meklet’s love for children is seen in all of her volunteer work over the years. She has worked for Vacation Bible school for the past 5 summers. She spends her morning until afternoon leading children from class to class. She takes care of children all day ranging from ages 3 to 10.
Meklet works under Tsinat Institute which is a place that strives to help neurodivergent young adults learn extremely important life lessons. She has served and is still currently serving as the Board of education there, where she plans lessons, connects with the students through google classroom, assigns homework, and more. She has had a one on one relationship with a student where they worked to help him create and update his resume, and start looking for jobs. She has also taught another student in a “Basic Computer Skills” class where she taught a student how to use spreadsheets, google, microsoft and more.
Meklet’s passion for Art and creativity are shown in the numerous years that she has taken Art classes. She later went on to volunteer at Cloverly Elementary School, and helped young elementary school kids be able to throw their creativity onto paper. She helped with art projects, painting, paper mache, and drawings while also ensuring these children got along, ate their snack, and went home safely.
Meklet is an active member in her community and drives to volunteer to her school, Tsinat institute, and her local church. She has earned over 240 SSL hours and continues to work for her and those around her.

✨ OFF TO BOSTON COLLEGE ✨Meet Noah — a servant leader, community advocate, and proud Ethiopian-American whose compassion and humility are taking him to Boston College ❤️🦅
Noah’s passion for service was sparked during his time volunteering at a senior living center, where one unforgettable interaction changed his perspective forever. What began as volunteer hours quickly became a lifelong mission rooted in love, empathy, and faith. Since then, Noah has dedicated himself to uplifting others and being fully present within his community.
A leader in every space he enters, Noah serves as a Deacon in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, teaching Sunday School students and assisting during Divine Liturgy. At school, he founded and led organizations including HOSA and the Ethiopian/Eritrean Student Association, while also serving as Vice President of the African Student Association. Through these roles, he worked to celebrate culture, foster belonging, and create opportunities for meaningful dialogue and outreach.
Noah’s impact extends beyond service and leadership. As a nationally recognized Speech & Debate competitor, he became a national finalist in declamation and earned state and league championships in 2024, competing at universities including UPenn, St. Joseph’s University, and the University of Cincinnati. He also explored his passion for medicine through doctor shadowing at St. Agnes Hospital and competed in the Wharton High School Data Science Competition.
Whether serving through Campus Ministry, leading as captain of the soccer team, welcoming incoming freshmen, or volunteering at BrightView Senior Living, Noah approaches every role with humility and purpose. Outside of school, he expresses himself creatively through music as both a guitarist and self-taught pianist, performing at art shows and live venues across the DC area.
Guided by faith, love, and a commitment to educational equity, Noah hopes to use his future to bridge gaps in opportunity and serve communities with compassion and justice.
Congratulations, Noah! Boston College is gaining a remarkable leader whose impact will continue far beyond the classroom 🎉💫

Off to the Wharton School! Meet Kebron, an Ethiopian-American student born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. Kebron is an ambitious and well-rounded student, getting A’s in all of her classes while also engaging and leading clubs such as Girls who Code, Women in STEM, and Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association. Additionally, she is in National Honors Society, Math Honors Society, English Honors Society and Computer Science Honors Society. Even with a distinguished set of extracurriculars, Kebron is sure to challenge herself with a rigorous course load that includes classes such as AP Calculus (5), AP Lang (5), AP Physics C: E & M (taking), and AP Gov (5), all while maintaining a 4.0 Unweighted GPA and a 4.90 Weighted GPA.
Throughout high school, Kebron was passionate about conceptually understanding each of her classes, she would take extensive notes in AP Calc BC, ensuring that she had a foundational understanding of each unit. More specifically, she was passionate about the “how’s and why’s” of Calculus, which helped her gain a better understanding of what she was being taught and would later on help her get a 5 on her exam. She was inspired to extend this knowledge to future Calculus students, so she founded Calc Club, a tutoring club that would help AP Calc BC & AP Calc AB succeed in the class and also get 5’s on their exam.
Moreover, Kebron is well-versed in the underrepresentation that women face in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. She witnessed this lack of diversity first-hand, as she had always seen less than 5 girls in all of her Computer Science classes. For this reason, she goes out of her way to lead and engage in clubs like Women in STEM and Girls Who Code. These clubs not only allowed her to partake in and foster a community of like-minded women, but also allowed her to develop more confidence in her career choice and her identity through club bonding activities and successful guest speakers. She aspires for there to be a community of women that feel that their race or gender is never in the way of the pursuit of their career. Prospectively, she hopes to participate in a similar community during her time in college.
Kebron, being a first-generation student, was grilled at a young age to work hard and get a good education. She was raised in a low-income household where her parents were forced to work everyday to provide their children with a stable income and healthy childhood. She used her parents' sacrifices as motivation to work hard in school. Spending her time out of school doing math and reading lessons while she was only in elementary school, thereby advancing her knowledge. However, the lessons she learned were not limited to only reading and math, and the time she spent learning was what sparked her passion for programming. Kebron began coding at a young age, whether it was through Khan Academy or Scratch.com. This ignition in her passion developed into the enrollment of more computer science classes. Eventually, she was mentored by a software engineer, during that time, she recreated PDF’s and built personal websites.
Beyond this, Kebron enjoys her time as a Summer Camp Counselor and Club Adventure staff, creating activities for kids to engage in a fun, active environment. She enjoys extending her passion for computer science to the younger generations, creating a limited-time club at her
workplace that teaches kids how to code (coding club). Similarly, she has volunteered at her local elementary school, teaching kids how to work with micro: bits, a programmable device designed to teach beginners how to code. During the spring season, she manages lacrosse at her high school and participates in cultural events like international night.

Naomi is headed to Northwestern University, bringing with her a strong commitment to leadership, service, advocacy, and community impact.

Growing up in a close-knit and energetic family environment, Naomi learned early on the importance of communication, confidence, and using her voice to bring people together. Over time, she realized her voice could do more than tell stories — it could advocate, organize, and create spaces where others feel seen and supported.

At Wheaton High School, Naomi has embraced leadership through initiatives focused on inclusion, representation, and empowerment. She believes leadership begins with listening and understanding, not simply being in charge. Through her work in student organizations, outreach programs, and collaborative projects, she has consistently focused on creating environments where students from all backgrounds feel encouraged to participate, grow, and succeed.

Her experiences balancing academics, leadership, athletics, STEM-focused opportunities, and internships have strengthened her communication, teamwork, and time management skills while keeping her grounded in service to others. Whether mentoring younger students, supporting peers, or helping organize programs and events, Naomi approaches every opportunity with empathy, responsibility, and purpose.

Naomi is especially passionate about expanding opportunities for underserved and underrepresented students in spaces where they have historically been overlooked. She hopes to continue building inclusive communities where people feel empowered to use their voices confidently and pursue ambitious goals without limitations.

As she begins her journey at Northwestern, Naomi plans to continue learning from new perspectives while developing the tools to create meaningful change in the communities around her. Her leadership reflects a deep belief that true impact comes from uplifting others, building connections, and creating spaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Naomi Kassaye is headed to Colgate University, bringing with her a strong record of leadership, service, and community impact grounded in commitment, initiative, collaboration, and responsibility.

As Associate Director of Communications for Wegene Youth Club, she secured free access to E-Temari, expanding educational opportunities for underprivileged Ethiopian students. She also raised funds for children in Ethiopia through the Grand African Run, earning the 2024 Africa Impact Award and recognition from the City of Alexandria Mayor.

Naomi is the founder of Sisters for Ethiopia (S4ET), an initiative dedicated to supporting sick children in Ethiopia, reflecting her deep commitment to advocacy and collaboration. Through her involvement in EESA and the CEO Entrepreneurship Project, she has strengthened her skills in problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership. She also holds multiple leadership and involvement roles, including JV Girls Soccer, Potomac School Yoga/Pilates, Winter Play tech crew, and Varsity Volleyball team manager.

For Naomi, leadership is rooted in taking initiative, uplifting others, and turning ideas into action.

Her journey reflects a belief that community both shapes the individual and is shaped by them. Naomi’s responsibility, as she sees it, is not only to contribute to her community—but to grow through it and carry it forward into every new space she enters.

Whether on the West Coast or in the DMV, Naomi Kassaye will continue to bring her community with her and create spaces where both she and others can thrive.

Off to Notre Dame! Meet Mieraf Haile. An Ethiopian-American born and raised in Maryland, Mieraf is a first-generation college student who sets exceptionally high expectations for herself both inside and outside the classroom. A dedicated scholar, she has maintained an unweighted 4.0 GPA while earning straight As throughout high school, resulting in recognition through the National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, National Math Honor Society, and National English Honor Society. She is also a recipient of the National African American Recognition Program and the National First-Generation Recognition Program, accolades that highlight her academic excellence and leadership as a trailblazer for her family and community.
At Sherwood High School, Mieraf has embraced leadership at the highest levels. As President of Women in STEM, she has created initiatives that broaden access for female students in science and technology, from organizing a STEM showcase with the Child Development Program to establishing mentorship opportunities with the University of Virginia’s All-Girls STEM Society. She also serves as Co-President of EMPOWHER, Vice President of Girls in Athletics, and Vice President of Sherwood Ambassadors, roles that have allowed her to foster inclusion, community, and advocacy for women and immigrant students alike. In addition, as Captain of the Varsity Cross Country and Track & Field teams, she has led her peers in both athletic and personal growth, balancing the demands of competition with rigorous academics.
Beyond school walls, Mieraf has had a remarkable impact through her nonprofit leadership. She is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Aiding Girls Reach Education (AGRE), an international nonprofit that has raised over $4,000 to support educational resources for more than 200 girls in Ethiopia. Through AGRE, she has coordinated tutoring sessions, built mentorship programs, and developed a global team of over 60 high school volunteers dedicated to empowering young women through education. This initiative was born out of Mieraf’s personal experiences in her family’s village of Wagebeta, Ethiopia, where she learned of legislation threatening the futures of girls her age. Her determination to act has since transformed into a movement that empowers both students and volunteers worldwide.
Mieraf’s passion for healthcare is equally profound. She has interned at the Army Research Laboratory as a Near Peer Mentor, where she designed DNA extraction modules, led engineering experiments, and guided over 100 students through coding and biotechnology projects. She has also shadowed physicians at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center’s Cardiology Associates, observing patient care, administering cardiac stress tests, and interpreting EKGs. This summer, she interned at a local primary care clinic in Olney, assisting with patient histories and vitals, while also conducting microfluidics and soft robotics research at the University of Maryland’s Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Lab under Dr. Ryan Sochol. Together, these experiences solidify her interest in public health and medicine, fields she intends to study further as a college student.
Rooted in her Ethiopian heritage and her family’s values, Mieraf balances her leadership with service and faith. She has volunteered in the Intermediary Care Unit at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center, comforting over 100 patients recovering from strokes, an experience made
especially personal by her grandfather’s illness. At her Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, she serves as a Sunday School teacher, leading Bible lessons for children and drawing religious icons in her free time as both a spiritual and creative practice.
Looking ahead, Mieraf plans to pursue a double major in Public Health and Neuroscience with the goal of becoming a physician dedicated to advancing healthcare and educational equity, particularly for underserved communities. Her long-term vision is to establish a clinic and educational center in Wagebeta, Ethiopia, addressing both medical needs and girls’ access to schooling. With a proven record of academic excellence, innovative leadership, and a deep commitment to global health, Mieraf is prepared to make lasting contributions to any campus community she joins.

Off to Princeton! Meet Esther Atolaiye, an aspiring neurosurgeon, who describes herself as the embodiment of her ancestor’s wildest dreams with an unrelenting spirit to change the world through neurological innovations in STEM and the inspiring of young minorities. Born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and raised in a small town called Burtonsville, Esther has continually exhibited a drive to succeed in everything she sets her mind to. She’s extremely proud of their ethnic Nigerian heritage, and advocacy and STEM serve as the foundation of who Esther is as an individual, with this being shown in numerous ways.

Within her high school, Esther is an avid learner in the Paint Branch Academy of Health Professions, where she’s already taken the two foundational courses (Foundations of Health Sciences and Structures & Functions of the Human Body). This year, she’s currently in her third course of the medical program where she has the wonderful opportunity in second semester to participate in an on-site hospital internship at Holy Cross and will receive her Maryland Certified Nursing Assistant License in the spring of 2026. A part from this, Esther is also working towards her goal of becoming a neurosurgeon by challenging herself in rigorous Advanced Placement science courses in her high school, including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, and AP Physics. Additionally, to highlight some more of the academic adventures Esther has embarked on (excluding the courses mentioned before), she has also taken AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP World History: Modern, AP Calculus BC, and AP English Language and Composition, and is currently taking AP English Literature and Composition, AP Psychology, and AP Statistics. For all the APs Esther has taken so far, she’s scored all 5s on the exams. Her intellectual prowess also extends to other standardized tests, such as the SAT, where she scored an astonishing 1510.

Outside the scope of schoolwork, Esther still remains heavily involved in the Paint Branch community. For one, she currently serves as the schoolwide Student Government Association (SGA) President, advocating on behalf of a student body of over 2,000. In her junior year, she served as the schoolwide SGA Secretary where she implemented an initiative of providing over 100+ pages of digital notes to her fellow high school students to aid them in their academic pursuits. To continue, Esther is a part of the leadership team for her school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes, where she assists in planning and facilitating weekly meetings in which over 30+ student athletes attend to learn how to connect sports to their faith, and she also embarked on a service trip to Malaysia, providing sports clinics to refugees. (Speaking of sports, Esther has also played on her school’s Varsity Cross Country Team and Girls’ Basketball Team) Esther has also occupied leadership roles in Paint Branch’s Black and African Student Union (where she is a Co-Founder and Co-President) and multiple honor societies, including the Social Studies Honor Society (serving as Vice President) and National Art Honor Society (serving as the Social Media Coordinator).

Esther’s work also extends into her school county through her involvement in several community-based organizations. Currently, she’s one of two Administrators for the Montgomery County Public Schools Special Elections Committee (SEC), where Esther oversees and directs the countywide student organization that facilitates the elections for the MCPS Student Member of the Board of Education and Montgomery County Regional Officers. Esther finds great joy and purpose in this role as she believes the SEC provides a blueprint for how over 88,000 MCPS secondary students will vote in future congressional and presidential elections. Besides this, Esther also serves as Communications Director of MoCo EmpowHER, a countywide women’s and non-binary individuals’ empowerment organization where she manages the emailing system and has facilitated self defense workshops and cultural celebrations; and she’s also the Public Relations Director of Eco MoCo, a youth-led environmental organization where she directs a team of about 20 members to create digital art relating to environmental sustainability. Esther also engages in volunteer work, having served three consecutive summers (2021-2023) at Forcey Day Camp, first as a Counselor-in-Training and then as a Buddy Counselor. Working 40 hours a week over these three summers, she ensured proper child care and assisted the “Friday Fun” Team in planning exciting games and activities for the adolescent campers on Fridays. Yet, apart from all of these activities, one of the extracurricular areas that Esther excels the most in is in those that are heavily STEM-based.

The summer after her sophomore year of high school, Esther stepped into action pursuing major STEM projects by serving as a summer intern in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Oncology Center of Excellence. Here, she dedicated herself to learning daily about the different biological processes playing a role in cancer development and visited a variety of medical sites and pharmaceutical companies (e.g. AstraZeneca, the National Institutes of Health, etc.). Through this internship, Esther also lobbied to staffers (Staffer Abigail Ashcraft for Congressman Michael McCaul (TX) and Staffer Andrew Murray for Senator Todd Young (IN)) of U.S. Congress members on Capitol Hill, encouraging them to advocate more strongly for bills improving cancer patient care. She also culminated this summer experience by working with a team of two to craft a presentation on demographic disparities in pediatric leukemia; her team was one of just three voted on by her peers to be selected for subsequent presentation at the FDA clinical trials! In addition to this internship, Esther has also participated in the Columbia IYRC Medicine and Research Program where she learned about different chronic medical diseases weekly from medical students studying at Columbia University, Stanford University, and other T20 educational institutions. For her final project, Esther composed a health narrative on her battle with overcoming depression, and this paper was not only selected for presentation at the International Youth Researcher’s Global Conference in January 2025, but also selected for publication in the internationally recognized International Youth Researchers’ Conference Journal.

Another highlight of Esther’s STEM journey includes being accepted into MITES Semester, the MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering, and Science Semester Program, which is not only associated with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but moreover exposes traditionally marginalized groups to the wonders of science. Here, Esther conducted a hands-on research project in which she worked with planarian worms and explored how the regeneration of planarians is impacted by prolonged exposure to red light and varying pH levels of solution. For MITES, she also conducted interviews with scientific researchers from top institutions such as Boston University and composed her own scientific article on racial disparities in pediatric neuroblastoma. This most recent summer (2025), Esther also received some lab experience in University of Maryland’s Fischell Department of Bioengineering; here, Esther worked under the assistance of UMD PhD student Mrs. Lexi Christensen, producing 3D prints and also analyzing different cell types used for projects on how to treat histopathology issues pertaining to female mastectomies.

A part from the large load of extracurriculars Esther partakes in, she loves to spend her free time hanging out with friends, reading fictional stories, and writing stories and essays herself (she even won an award from this in the Harvard Alumni GlobalWE IYRC Essay Competition 2024). Looking at the road ahead, Esther hopes to major in neuroscience/biochemistry in university and hopes to continue using her voice and spirit to continually advocate on the behalf of others.