Collette Gordon was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and spent most of her childhood in Erie, Pennsylvania. In May of 2022, Collette earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry with honors emphasis at USC. During her undergraduate studies, she began researching in the Fieser Lab on the design of rare-earth metal catalysts for the ring-opening copolymerization of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides. As a Center for Sustainable Polymers Summer Research Fellow, Collette researched in the Hillmyer Lab on the crystallization behavior of aliphatic polyester thermoplastic elastomeric star polymers. During the summer of 2022, Collette first joined the Swager Lab working on the development of PAEs for ethylene sensing applications. Subsequently, Collette joined the Swager Lab in the fall of 2022 as an organic graduate student in the Program in Polymers and Soft Matter (PPSM). In the Swager Lab, now as a Ph.D. Candidate, Collette designs and synthesizes functionalized conductive polymers for environmental sensing applications as an National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and MIT Dean of Science Fellow. In the MIT graduate community, Collette serves as the Women in Chemistry+ Co-President, NOBCChE Collaborative Representative, and Environmental Health and Safety Lab Safety Officer. In her community, Collette teaches 8th graders about materials chemistry and environmental engineering to provide students with an educational and personal platform to solve environmental issues with innovative STEM technologies.