Seth Herzon 

Now an organic chemist and professor at Yale University, Seth Herzon, CST ’02, initially struggled in school. “I didn’t know how to go about learning. I’d get piles of work, go home and just be overwhelmed,” he says.

But Herzon’s transition to Valley Forge Military Academy during his senior year of high school provided the structure he needed to continue his studies. He arrived at Temple prepared to excel but unsure of what he wanted to study.

Then one professor changed his trajectory.

“I heard chatter among the students that Grant Krow’s course was just the hardest among the organic chemistry sections,” says Herzon, who got on the biochemistry track after a guidance counselor recommended it given his interest in cell biology. While others avoided the class, Herzon sought out the challenge.

“I signed up and just loved it. He had a towering command of the subject and was an incredible teacher.”

Krow invited Herzon to join his lab, and from there Herzon’s passion and aptitude for chemistry grew.

“Professor Krow was a father figure for me in science as I was starting out. I’d likely not be where I am had I not crossed paths with him.”

With Krow in mind, Herzon gifted $50,000 to endow the Grant Krow Memorial Scholarship, which provides financial support for undergraduate or graduate students in the Chemistry Department.

That’s something—and someone—worth saluting.