ACS Scholar alumna: Eliza Herrero

Abstract

Eliza Herrero emailed her high school chemistry teacher last year and told him, “I want to let you know that I’m doing chemistry because of you.” Herrero, who is now a third-year graduate student in chemistry at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, says it’s important for teachers and other mentors to know how big of an impact they have had on their students. In fact, Herrero has had many mentors throughout her life who have influenced her career path. Herrero grew up in Scarsdale, New York. She credits her Cuban grandmother, whom she calls Abuela , for her dedicated work ethic. “She had a really hard life,” Herrero says of her grandmother. “She moved here from Cuba, and she faced a lot of adversity.” Her grandmother used to say to Herrero, “If you have the no, then you have to keep going until you come back with the yes.”