Solianna Herrera has finally found her passion, and through it she is determined to change the world. A recent graduate of the University of South Florida, Herrera is preparing for a future as an atmospheric scientist. She wants to make a difference in the environmental health of communities and have a hand in planning the earth’s energy budget for the sake of future generations.
Herrera grew up in several different places on both coasts. Every few years, her family would move to a new community — though she was always near a beach, and the pace of her home life was always slower and more relaxed than her fast-paced life as a student in a rapidly growing field of study.
Since she was a young child, Herrera has served as a role model for her younger siblings. As the oldest, she feels a responsibility to set a good example. “I want them to be better than I am,” she says. “So I listened to my parents when they told me to be good, to listen, to help out around the house, and to go to college. They taught me to be a good sister.” She is grateful to her parents for their support and their patience as she was finding her way — a process, she admits, that took longer than she originally planned.
Herrera attended Nature Coast Technical High School in Florida, where she trained for a career in nursing. But she soon discovered that medicine was not what she wanted, and entered college hoping to find a new career path. The road was not easy; she had difficulty in her first years at her university, bouncing between majors and struggling to keep up academically. “The biggest challenge was discovering what my purpose was,” Herrera says. “I was trying my hand at many things in the hope of finding a passion, all while trying to balance my workload at school and my odd jobs.” The high costs and daunting prospect of declaring a field of study nearly put her off college entirely.
Eventually, Herrera discovered her love for environmental chemistry through a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) opportunity — Integrated Optics for Undergraduate Native Americans — at the University of Arizona, which she found through the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP). “I was paired with a professor who worked in atmospheric chemistry,” she explains. “His research had an impact on the local community because inhaling aerosols at mining sites has negative health implications. I love the idea of integrating science and the community.”
Inspired by her work at Arizona, Herrera declared her major and launched herself into the field of chemistry, finally feeling a sense of purpose in her education. (For more on IBP and Herrera’s experience, see page 38.)
Though the University of South Florida does not offer specific programs for Native Americans, Herrera was active on campus as a member of the cross-country team and the Army’s ROTC program. She also helped out as a tutor for foreign exchange students. In her junior year, she joined AISES after hearing about it at the University of Arizona.
Though Herrera has graduated, she makes sure other students are aware of the opportunities AISES provides. “I get emails from AISES about their scholarship opportunities,” she says. “In turn, I make these available on my blog for people not on the listserv.” She credits AISES with helping her meet faculty members who are actively invested in the success of Native students.
Herrera says that she would love to say her success has been a result of determination and devotion, but the truth is, making her way has been difficult, and there was even a point where she wanted to drop out. “I credit the journey up to this point to the Creator, because when I asked for guidance, it was given to me. In college, it came in the form of my chemistry professor who mentored me through challenging science courses.” With the support and guidance of her community, Herrera says, she managed to overcome difficulties and graduate with a degree in a subject she loves.
As she prepares for graduate school and her future in environmental chemistry, Herrera has some advice for students who are starting college and feeling overwhelmed, as she did. “Keep searching,” she says. “Your elders are always saying ‘education is the key.’ They are right! Going to college is really more of a gateway to finding out what your purpose is. Don’t worry about how difficult they say it is or how expensive, just do the best you can.”
