Hawa Hamidou Tabayi

Hawa Hamidou Tabayi graduated from Salem High School as Salutatorian, AP Scholar with Distinction, Class President, and Student Representative for the Salem School Committee while involved in Model United Nations, Student Council, and other intersections of politics and students' rights, earning the Giving Tree Award. Splitting her time between Salem and Boston (Dorchester) during high school, Hawa devoted her time to grassroots organizing based on climate and environmental justice, mutual aid networks, and Black liberation, recently part of the Future Leaders Climate Summit. She helped establish the community care collective Solidarity Northshore, co-founded the Massachusetts Youth Climate Coalition, and held leadership roles in youth-led climate justice and majority-Black organizations across the state. In Boston, Hawa dedicated much of her junior and senior year to actively participating in the Black Lives Matter Movement, advocating against state-sanctioned violence. At Dartmouth, she plans to self-create the special major, Black Francophone Literature & History, along with Economics, while minoring in Public Policy & Environmental Studies. Raised in the cultures of France (Amiens), the United States (Salem and Boston), and her country of origin, Cameroon (Yaounde), Hawa's localities have shaped her interest in postcolonialism, sustainability, and reparations. At Dartmouth, she works at the Academic Skills Center, the Sustainability Office, and Black archival research. She is also involved with Foundations, SEAD, FUERZA Mutual Aid, Black Legacy Month & Africa Week Planning Committee, NAACP, Black Praxis, First Generation Office, and literature reviews across campus. In the future, Hawa hopes to pursue anti-colonial, environmental justice, and socioeconomic policymaking in Françafrique countries and ultimately intends to pursue human rights and land sovereignty law.