Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) - Take Five with…Erin Kerwood

Erin Kerwood, PhD, assistant professor of chemistry, bonded with ECC instantly. “I love it here and have met so many awesome people!” Starting as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2021, Kerwood made her way to full-time in the spring. A northwest suburban native, Kerwood grew up near Arlington Heights, earning her bachelor’s degree at the University of Notre Dame and later her PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Kerwood is no stranger to community college life - her first teaching job was at Ivy Tech Community College in Lafayette, IN, where she worked for seven years before returning to the Chicagoland area.

Get to know Kerwood outside of the lab! She has a favorite beach destination you’d never guess and has lived in another country for two years.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled, or where is somewhere you dream of going, and why? My favorite beach vacation was in Thailand, where I could go snorkeling and visit an elephant sanctuary.

What was your first job? My first job post-college was teaching chemistry as an adjunct professor at Ivy Tech Community College in Lafayette, IN. I intended it to be a stop-gap position until I found something else, but I quickly realized I love teaching at community college and never turned back!

Binge watcher, book club, or both? Book club! I love to read contemporary literary fiction and psychological thrillers.

Cats, dogs, or house plants? A cat (named Laksa, after the Singaporean/Malaysian noodle soup) and plenty of house plants. I’m lucky to have an office with a window and two plants.

What is one surprising fact about you? I lived in Singapore for two years with my husband and two kids (for my husband’s job). It was an amazing experience, and we traveled all over Southeast Asia to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.