Mohammad A. Alkhadra | 2025 Recreation Alumni Award Recipient

By Liz Henry ‘08,
Assoc. Director of Recreation, Engagement

Mohammad (Mo) Alkhadra first heard about Recreation during his freshman year while attending the Revelle College Honors seminar in 2014. A presentation about facilities by Gary Matthews, the Vice Chancellor of Resource Management & Planning at that time, left an impression that motivated Mo to get involved. During his senior year, he reached out and connected with Todd Pitman, Director of Physical Planning & Campus Landscape Architect, and Rich Mylin, the Director of Recreation, to begin his pursuit of impact on UC San Diego Recreation facilities.

Mo, who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering at UC San Diego, was an active student and often utilized Recreation’s fitness gyms and facilities. Mo and his roommates, Eric Zhao and Adam Klie (who played on the UC San Diego men’s basketball team), would frequent Main Gym and RIMAC. “We pushed each other to get fit and stay in shape.” Recreation had imparted on him the desire to do something to bolster the department and the greater Triton community when he had the means to do so. With the premier San Diego weather and connection to the outdoors, Mo had always dreamed of an outdoor gym — somewhere to practice calisthenics.

When asked what Recreation means to him and to campus, Mo shared two words: Community and Camaraderie. “‘Community’ because it was a big part of my experience, and I sort of yearn for this now with life being more work-focused and at times, isolated,” Mo says. “We would go to class, eat, study, work out, and (do campus life) with friends, and UC San Diego Recreation fosters that community. ‘Camaraderie’ because I met a lot of friends while going to the gym and being in the REC ecosystem and I cherish that — especially since COVID. I miss that sense of friendship and community I had on campus, and I truly value the health and fitness it affords.”

Mo went on to earn a PhD from MIT and co-founded Lithios to revolutionize lithium extraction — an innovation that could reshape the global lithium supply chain. Lithios is a 22-person company based in Medford, Massachusetts, that focuses on three key elements related to the production of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles: bolstering climate resilience, critical mineral supply chains, and domestic manufacturing. Mo was also recently recognized on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his groundbreaking work and will be getting married this June in San Diego to his partner, Giahan Nguyen, whom he met at the UC San Diego Biomedical Library in 2016.

Mo’s achievements are something to be celebrated, and we cannot wait to see what he accomplishes next. For Recreation and the UC San Diego students, including the calisthenics-based student organization TritonThenix, Mo’s donation and vision led to the co-development of the Triton Bar Park, an outdoor fitness space on campus that opened in 2019. His undergrad facility impact and dream have officially come to life.

If Mo could give our current UC San Diego Recreation student employees and participants advice, it would be: “Take care of your health, especially in this day and age where a lot of people work at a desk, sit a lot, and it's easy to neglect.” Capitalize on the time, facilities, programs, and communities you have while at UC San Diego. “Having access to these resources and not taking advantage of them would be a missed opportunity,” he says.

“Also, follow your dreams. It may feel that students cannot contribute philanthropically, but there are creative ways students can fundraise and support the development of new projects on campus that peers, the campus community, and future students can benefit from. Feel empowered and know that you can also have an impact.”

Mo shared that he benefited a lot from the generosity of others and has made it an imperative element of his life to pay it forward to others. “I believe firmly in good karma and that everyone should pay it forward, and if they did, the world would be a better place. These are central tenets of my life, and I hope to inspire others to do the same.

“I believe firmly in good karma and that everyone should pay it forward, and if they did, the world would be a better place.”