From Curiosity to Community: Middle School STEM Fair Celebrates Student Innovation

By Miller Fishback

Middle school students gathered at Greenwich High School on Saturday for the fifth annual Greenwich Middle School STEM Fair. This event gave students the opportunity to display and communicate their science research, make friends, and embrace the power of STEM.

The STEM Fair took place virtually in 2021 and 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, its first in-person year, the event only had 12 presentations. Last year, there were 36. This past weekend, that number nearly doubled, with 70 projects on display.

Much of that growth is thanks to Zara Haque, a senior at Greenwich High School who will be attending Harvard University next year. Being a co-chair of the First Selectman’s Youth Commission, Haque played a massive role in organizing and promoting the event.

In the fair’s first year, she was the inaugural winner. “As I grew up, left middle school, and joined the FSYC, it became very important to me to realize that goal of fostering connection,” she said.

She continued, “not only do I truly believe in the mission of this fair, which is to foster a sense of community amongst like-minded youth in our town, but I can also speak directly to the effects that this event has had on my life.”

Zara credits much of the event’s success to Danielle Jean-Guillaume Sittol, the Youth Services Bureau Administrator and Advisor of the First Selectman’s Youth Commission. She provides tremendous support to many community-oriented projects and initiatives, such as the STEM Fair, which, according to Haque, “would not be possible without her.”

Additionally, Zara acknowledged the role of Andy Bramante in her success as a student.

Mr. Bramante runs the Honors Science Research Seminar at GHS, which helps students embrace science research without the constraints of a typical science course. Under his leadership, the program has gained national recognition.

Many student projects were developed independently, but were largely supported by Junior Innovators, a middle school elective course for eighth graders.

Alternatively, some middle schoolers shared projects completed in STEM to Stern, a program run by the Boys & Girls Club and the Greenwich Water Club to help expand access to both rowing and STEM education for middle schoolers who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

The high school students who volunteered as judges and supported the event in various roles are: Isaac “Monty” Bell, Owen Benison, Justin Bernstein, Arnav Bhatia, Lily Bittman, Tavi Choudhary, Sophia de Mata, Caroline Dolan, Liam Dozier, Khadija Elsoukkary, Zain Haque, Joshua Herman, Lauren Huang, Benjamin Huang, Mariam Hussain, Alex Jackson, Ava Jackson, Nishant Jain, Henry Jin, Simrin Khera, Frida Lemus, Raymond Li, Briar Lissauer, Tyler Malkin, Thomas McKinney, Neil Pendkar, Sara Rahimtula, Lauren Rutkoske, Ainsley Sahrbeck, Saki Sato, Nicolas Sosa, Sophie Steinbeck, Anna Stempien, Caitlin Tice, Ryan Wadhwa, Mackensey Wilson, Keen Woo, Sophie Yu, and Ela Zielinski.

Students were judged by three judges each during a 90-minute exhibition period. Judges used a rubric that focused on key considerations like organization, content, implications, execution, and more.

After display and judging, two guest speakers took the stage.

First was Jose Manuel Otero, the Chief Technical Officer of Lexeo Therapeutics. He has led innovation in gene therapy, bioprinting, immunotherapies, and vaccine development across companies like Auregen, Turnstone, Seres, and Merck.

Mr. Otero is a Greenwich High School graduate and former science fair standout, now living in Greenwich with his wife and four children, actively supporting STEM education in Connecticut.

He shared that after graduating from MIT with a masters degree, he, “quite frankly, didn’t know what [he] wanted to do.” Ultimately, he ended up working to develop a vaccine for cervical cancer. At the time, it was the second leading cause of death among women.

Otero came from “humble, simple beginnings” and was the first person in his family to graduate high school.

At Central Middle School, he was in “remedial” classes. This led to him being initially rejected from participation in the science fair due to the fact that he wasn’t in an honors class himself. So, he entered independently and finished as a finalist at the Connecticut State Science Fair.

Otero continuously emphasized the importance of hard work. “That’s what I did my whole life. Work very hard. I’m not particularly bright, nor smart. I just worked hard.”

Before thanking the parents, teachers, and supporters of youth involvement in STEM, he voiced a call to action: “I strongly believe that, if you were born with a gift to be able to be a practitioner of science, technology, engineering, or math, it is your responsibility to do good with that gift.”

After Otero finished speaking, Elizabeth Wallace took the stage. A 2023 Greenwich High School graduate, she is now a rising sophomore at Columbia University majoring in Environmental Chemistry and Comparative Literature. She is largely passionate about climate issues.

During her time at Greenwich High School, Ms. Wallace participated in the honors science research program, which she described as the most formative and enriching part of her high school career.

Wallace has since worked on projects such as the eco-friendly remediation of arsenic and phosphates, as well as reducing toxicity to honey and wild bee pollinators through the controlled delivery of sulfoxaflor pesticide.

During her gap year, she traveled the world, learning about various cultures–and even how to speak Chinese. In that time, however, she realized how much she missed science research, which drove her decision to go to Columbia and work in their lab.

Finally, she reminded the students that “passion isn’t linear.” She emphasized the importance of following that passion, “even when it diverges.”

The Greenwich Middle School STEM Fair concluded with an awards ceremony to honor the following students:

• Longevity Award: Ian Naik (WMS 8) for his participation in the STEM Fair for three years (6th, 7th, and 8th grade).

• Honorable Mention (x2): Anay Ganesh & Abir Singh (EMS 6) for the project “Oil Spill Cleanup Simulation” and Sophia Iyer & Sydney Bellissimo (Sacred Heart 8) for the project “Using Fruit-Based Peel Powders to Create a Potent Slow Release Fertilizer that Improves Plant Growth and Crop Productivity.”
• Most Creative Display: Lia Shum (EMS 8) for the project “Straw Wars: Reducing Waste for a Healthier Planet.”

• Prathit Kurup Community Impact Award: Xoe Henry, Olivia Broughton, & Molly Cronin (Sacred Heart 8) for the project “Testing the Effect of Rain and Rainwater Runoff on the Health of a Local Pond.”
• Excellence in Presentation: Bea Hertzmark, Claris Flannery, & Leela Curry (GA 8) for the project “The Effect of Screen Time before Bed on Sleep.”
• STEM to Stern (StS) Choice Award: Nicole Leon, Daniela Puchi, Ximena Vargas, & Lia Javier (WMS 7) for the project “How to Make Popping Boba.”
• Emerging Scientist: Brady Chan & Tyler Imbrogno (EMS 6) for the project “Is Hydroponics Effective as Traditional Growing Methods; How are Plants Affected by Being put into Water, and how Might this Change the World?”
• Best in Fair: Rajsi Choudhary (EMS 8) for the project “Fabrication of a Biodegradable, Nutrient-Rich, Orange Peel-Loaded Hydrogel for Thermally-Programmed Release of Water to Maintain Soil Moisture.”