Herinell Linares of Lawrence

Herinell Linares of Lawrence, a student at Northern Essex Community College, was named one of “29 Who Shine” from the state’s Public Higher Education Class of 2012.
The honorees, chosen because of their academic achievements and record of student leadership and community service, will be honored by Governor Patrick at a ceremony at the State House on Thursday, May 10.
Linares, who will graduate in May with an associate in Science degree in Engineering Science, was born in the Dominican Republic. He arrived in this country in 2006 unable to speak English. He had just graduated from high school. As soon as he was eligible, he enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at NECC. Though he wasn’t sure of a major, an NECC professor recognized his math talent in a college algebra II class and encouraged him to explore engineering. He took a digital logic class and knew instantly he wanted to be an engineer.
While math comes easily to Linares, he did struggle with many of the higher level classes and was a frequent visitor to the college’s math lab. In addition to attending school full time, he works as a security guard at a Lawrence apartment building and as a banquet server for the Wyndham hotel. Two nights a week, he works the night shift, comes home and sleeps four hours, and then gets up and attends class.
This fall, Linares is transferring to UMass Lowell to study engineering. He has a 3.27 GPA.
As a group, the “29 Who Shine,” range in age from 17 to 52. They hail from each of the state’s 29 public higher education campuses located in 25 cities and towns across Massachusetts. Each student was nominated for the “29 Who Shine,” Award by faculty and staff at the individual campuses.