Next Generation – Zara Haque - Fairfield County Look

Portrait by ChiChi Ubiña

YWCA Greenwich will be holding its 7th Annual Women Who Inspire Awards to recognize exceptional women in our community. YWCA Greenwich’s Women Who Inspire Awards was established to recognize and celebrate outstanding women who have excelled in philanthropic, professional, and volunteer pursuits. Importantly, these honorees have enriched the lives of many in our community. This event acknowledges the changes in society that have led to the fluidity of work/life pursuits for women of today.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Zara Haque is a senior at Greenwich High School whose strong desire to share her love for STEM inspires her to engage with her community through STEM-related initiatives and events.

Zara is fascinated by the intersection of science and society and has been conducting independent science research in both social science and environmental science since middle
school. Her research on the effects of “Social Capital” (social trust, quantified) on Covid-19 caseand mortality rates received national recognition. Most recently, she developed a novel mechanism for the complete degradation of harmful PFAS, carcinogenic “forever chemicals” that are particularly prevalent in the state of Connecticut, into easily repurposed byproducts – chemistry research with public policy and social justice implications.

As Co-Chair of the First Selectman’s Youth Commission of the Town of Greenwich, a community of young people dedicated to promoting and establishing the youth voice in the Town of Greenwich, Zara directs the Annual Greenwich Middle School STEM Fair. The STEM Fair aims to spark middle schoolers’ interest in STEM, provide early exposure to a science fair, and connect middle schoolers with like-minded peers across Greenwich. In 2022, she facilitated the inperson debut of the STEM Fair, and under her leadership, the number of participants in the STEM Fair has tripled. As the inaugural winner of this fair, and now three-time Director of it, it goes without saying that it is incredibly close to her heart.

Zara is also the Founding STEM Coordinator of Greenwich STEM to Stern. STEM to Stern is a national organization working to lower the barriers to crew and STEM education – a mission that resonates with Zara given the pivotal role the pursuit of science research has played in her intellectual journey. As STEM Coordinator of the Greenwich chapter, she creates and teaches science research curriculum to ~40 under-resourced students, who are recruited from the Greenwich Boys & Girls Club. Every spring, these students present their research at the Greenwich Middle School STEM fair.

Zara has been recognized by the YWCA in the past – in April 2024, she received the YWCA Greenwich Gender and & Racial Justice Scholarship for her leadership and community service. She has also received the Junior League of Greenwich Community Service Award, the Greenwich Sustainability Committee’s Annual Sustainability Award, and the Connecticut Youth Services Association’s Youth Leadership Award.

Outside of her community service and STEM pursuits, Zara is interested in public policy, international relations, and politics. She has served as Co-President of Greenwich High School’s Debate and Model United Nations teams, and was selected by the League of Women Voters as the student moderator for Greenwich’s State Senator & Representative Candidate Debate this past October.