When Raine Brookshire arrived in Houston from Ghana, his mother enrolled him in Harmony School of Discovery - Houston.  There he was introduced to high-level, rigorous courses in STEM. He developed a fascination with studying the stars, finding a personal connection to the way they mirrored the pigment patches caused by his vitiligo. It did not take him long to climb to the top of his class where he graduated with a 4.2 GPA and earned the title of class Valedictorian

As a Questbridge recipient, he accepted an offer from Dartmouth after receiving offers from almost a dozen prestigious universities. He

set off to study astrophysics at the Ivy League college where he would discover limitless possibilities. Early on, Raine changed his major to Quantitative Social Science but still has a passion for Astrophysics, which he plans to minor in.

Raine stated “Dartmouth opened my eyes to the power of sociological data. I'm now using both sides of my brain to tell stories through data. Dartmouth introduced me to coding, but it all began with math--every number has a story to tell.” That passion was sparked by taking advanced math courses at Harmony.

Raine is not just an accomplished student but also has a long list of achievements to add to his resume. He is part of the chess club and participates in inter-Ivy tournaments. His passion for chess started at Harmony School of Discovery, where he participated in the school’s robust after-school chess program. He also power lifts in the Inter-Ivy League, swims with intramurals, volunteers with Dartmouth Tech Consulting Group and Dartmouth Sports Analytics, belongs to the historic fraternity Delta Tau Delta, runs a start-up corporation, and in his free time, practices Jui Jitsu.

Raine’s LinkedIn posts open a window to his intense passion for people and storytelling. In a recent post, he shared, “Each person's journey is unique and valuable. We must embrace the process and continuously redirect our focus. However, while we cannot control every aspect of our reality, we can willingly and happily experience every fleeting moment. Through influence and awareness, we can reframe our reality, much like the brain adapts through neuroplasticity,"   (www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7284551810697019392/)

In June 2025, Raine will graduate from Dartmouth with a resume that many seasoned professionals would envy. For his senior thesis, he has combined storytelling, gang activity, and school gun violence. The thesis promises to be enticing and well-crafted, using data and numbers to tell a powerful story that will engage readers and educators

Note: Raine’s LinkedIn posts are worth reading. You can follow him here: www.linkedin.com/in/rxbrooks/

To view Raine's Valedictorian speech visit this link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp3IbVb4OKw