Collette 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 research journey at the Fieser Lab, Collette's research focus was 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. Beginning her graduate research journey in the summer of 2022, Collette researched in the Swager Lab on the development of PAEs for sensing applications. In the fall of 2022, Collette joined the Swager Lab as an organic graduate student in the program in polymers and soft matter. Collette is an MIT Dean of Science Fellow.