Finding Her Way

Tawhida Haque, Graduate Student, Biology, Metropolitan Campus

A young woman wearing a white lab coat conducts an experiment in a science lab.

(Photo: Karsten Moran)

By Kenna Caprio

Tawhida Haque, a graduate student studying biology at the Metropolitan Campus, is a hands-on kind of person. Whether it’s conducting biological research, creating henna designs or joining campus organizations, Haque is a doer.

But she wasn’t always that way. College brought out all these new sides of her, allowing her to grow into herself and flourish.

“I never thought about taking on a leadership role until I joined the Student Government Association (SGA). College is what you make of it, and I wanted to get the most out of it — academically, socially, personally and professionally,” Haque says.

She joined the Rotaract Club first, then SGA and the Pre-Health Professional Club. Eventually, she became the junior class and then senior class representative for SGA, and co-president of the Pre-Health Professional Club.

A woman with gloved hands holds up a lab sample.

(Photo: Karsten Moran)

One of her standout memories is SGA Week — the e-board hosted activities including tattoos, carnival games, a “paint and swap,” a rage room and “pie-a-senator.” Another special memory is a henna night run by the Muslim Student Association. Around age 12, Haque began practicing henna designs, often on herself but also on friends and family — “on anyone willing to give me their skin as a canvas,” she jokes. “It’s my favorite hobby because it’s connected to art and culture.” For henna night, Haque created intricate, delicate floral designs, sometimes incorporating animals, names or even sports motifs, for the student attendees.

As she expanded her social and community commitments, she also pushed herself academically.

“I wanted to get into research, and Professor [Marion] McClary [professor of biological sciences] went out of his way to make sure that I could,” says Haque.

“We worked with Madagascar hissing cockroaches, testing their nerve impulses with different chemical stimuli. I specifically focused on caffeine. The other researchers were testing nicotine and adrenaline. We wrote up a paper and it’s in process to be published and presented.”

Currently, Haque is conducting antimicrobial research. “It feels meaningful doing research, and trying to find reasons and explanations for findings. There’s a scientific explanation behind everything. There’s so much to learn about the world, about humans, about everything. It’s never-ending!”