What were you up to before you enrolled in Bioversity’s training course in Lowell?

Before the Bioversity program, I was struggling to make ends meet by balancing two jobs: a gas station attendant and manager of a local farm stand. I would usually work six days a week and felt like I didn’t have much of a life outside of work. I also continued to struggle with figuring out what I wanted as a career, as I had worked in many different fields and still felt stuck.

Tell us more about your experience at Bioversity

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire Bioversity experience from day one. Bioversity was my first time going back to “school” in over a decade, but the experience made me further appreciate what education can do for your own personal development. With my experience at Bioversity, I feel like I had finally honed in on a career trajectory that I was truly excited about.

For me, the career support was especially helpful. LinkedIn and ChatGPT were not something that I previously had experience with; however, throughout Bioversity, I was taught how to properly utilize these assets and make them work for me. The instructors were also super passionate about what they do, and that passion was passed on to our cohort and really got us excited for this new field that we were venturing into. The cohort, instructors, and experience overall were overwhelmingly positive.

During the career fair that we had, getting to see the actual jobs that were being offered and seeing the ones where my skill set was a match was extremely encouraging. I actually secured my current job at the job fair, and as soon as I met with the HR rep from Vericel, I knew that I had found my place. I also felt confident that Bioversity had provided a great foundation for my new career.

Can you share more about your new job in biotech after you graduated from Bioversity?

What excites me the most about my new career is that I finally found a job that I not only enjoy doing and that I am good at, but it is also incredibly meaningful and helps improve the lives of the people around us. I enjoy it so much that I don’t mind the sometimes tough commute through Cambridge.

Since completing the program, I was able to give up my other two jobs and have some more time to spend with my family — something which was lacking previously.

What would you tell people considering applying to Bioversity’s workforce training program?

My advice for people thinking of joining Bioversity is to look at the program, look at the types of jobs people get after completing the program, and really consider if this is something that you want with your life. If you do, there is no better option than Bioversity. I cannot speak more highly of this program. What it did for me and my life is incredible. It finally gave me a direction in which to develop my career. Now that I have my new career, I feel like I am exactly where I need to be, and for that, I could not be more grateful.