We are pleased to announce the 2025 Eileen Kraus Scholarship Awardee,
Tasneem Zoghol.
Tasneem wrote her winning essay about Dr. Helen Smits Helen L. Smits — CT Women’s Hall of Fame, who she identified as one of her greatest inspirations. Tasneem aspires to not only be a physician, but like Dr. Smits, she dreams of being an advocate and catalyst for change, of making healthcare a right, and not a privilege, of improving the conditions of life in marginalized communities, and of curing vulnerable sick people.
As a student at Madina Academy in Windsor, Connecticut, Tasneem served in myriad leadership positions including Vice President of the Connecticut Association of National Honor Societies, and Vice President of her school’s student government. Driven by her passion for cultivating global health, Tasneem also participated in Model United Nations for all four years of high school, representing Japan in the UNICEF committee, and Kenya in the Commission on the Status of Women committee. She volunteered internationally for organizations where she assisted vulnerable children living in disadvantaged areas of the world suffering from health and economic disparities.
Furthermore, during high school, Tasneem competed in the National History Day Contest, a country-wide academic program which encourages middle and high school students to conduct original historical research and present their findings in local, state-wide, and national competitions. Alongside her group, Tasneem devised an original performance piece chronicling the life of Nellie Bly, an investigative journalist who, during the late nineteenth century, revealed the inhumane and injurious conditions at state psychiatric institutions. Tasneem and her group’s presentation placed 1st in her Region, 2nd in the State of Connecticut, and 9th Nationally. Tasneem is also very passionate about STEM and was a research assistant at UConn’s School of Medicine and participated in the CT Science and Engineering Fair for many years, where she won numerous state and national awards.
Tasneem has begun her first year at the University of Connecticut (UConn), as a Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major and biology and global studies double minor. Through this interdisciplinary course of study, Tasneem aspires to galvanize change in the global health sphere and continue centering gender equity in her work.
To realize this goal while at the UCONN, Tasneem will serve as the Director of UConn’s Model UN AD HOC Committee and also plans to join UConn for Global Health Scholars.
Eileen Kraus
Is a 2002 Inductee into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, was the first woman to head a major regional financial institution and was the founding Chairman of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Board of Trustees.
She believed in women leaders, and her legacy demonstrates her commitment to mentoring women and advancing the causes that most affect them. On behalf of the Kraus family, we are pleased to honor her legacy today with the Eileen Kraus Scholarship Fund, and help ensure that the next generation of women leaders are able to follow the trail she so capably blazed.
Applications Deadline May 6th
Application Requirements
Eligible Applicants must be:
Female students currently residing in Connecticut (legal resident)
Recent high school graduates or in the final year of secondary school
Intending to enroll in her first year of college or university (current university/college students not eligible)
Past Scholarship Winners
"If you're the first in something, if you're at the top of something, you do have a phenomenal opportunity to give back. You're able to help open doors, you're able to help other people gain success, and to me that has been a tremendously satisfying part of whatever success I've had. I've been able to share it."
-Eileen Kraus
Eileen Kraus Scholarship
The application process for our 2025 Eileen Kraus Scholarship has closed, the scholarship for 2026 will be available in 2026!
The Eileen Kraus Scholarship was established in 2016 in partnership with Kaman Corporation. The scholarship awards $5,000 each year to one outstanding Connecticut woman beginning her first year of college or university.
Donate to the Scholarship Fund
Checks can be mailed to:
The Eileen Kraus Scholarship
c/o The Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame
320 Fitch St, Schwartz Hall B-3
New Haven, CT 06515
Or make a gift over the phone: (203) 392-9007