Maureen Kalimba Isimbi 

​Maureen Kalimba Isimbi, from Kigali, Rwanda, is a sophomore at Tufts University. She’s majoring in Human Factors engineering with a minor in engineering management. Currently, she’s the International Community Senator in the Tufts Student Government, the treasurer of Tufts National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and a math tutor. Maureen was awarded the 2017 Montle Prize to build an app that will connect Rwandan primary students in need of tuition assistance with potential donors and The Clinton Global Initiative awarded Maureen a grant to pioneer a project to fight female genital mutilation in Nigeria. In 2017, she worked with WorldWideWomen to build a database of women’s organizations around the world. Before she joined SHE-CAN and came to the U.S., Maureen graduated first in her class from Riviera High School and received a perfect score on the Rwanda National Exam. She was fortunate to attend this prestigious, private high school thanks to a full-ride, merit-based scholarship. Outside the classroom, she was President of Never Again Club, whose purpose was to fight against genocide ideologies. Maureen led the development and execution of a project, My Water, My Health, to build a borehole in her village’s well to ensure that the well would no longer spread waterborne diseases. Similar to her academic pursuits, her extracurricular activities are inspired by the unjust oppression that women face. Her dream is to become a role model and an inspiration to women in Rwanda, and help grow the number of women in STEM fields. Maureen wants to unpack misconceptions toward females in her country and prove those misconceptions wrong.

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Attending

Academic Major

Engineering Psychology

Class of 2020

Mentor Team

Jodi Morris, Connecting Growth Globally
Teri Carcano, MetroClips
Maggie Mosteller, The Foundation for Teamwork
Debbie Markiles, Fox News Channel
Jadine Lai, BIO - RAD LABORATORIES, INC.  and Marketing Consultant & Writer
Jane Gutman