Thoughts From a Few of Our 2022 Scholarship Recipients!

Congratulations to our 2022 Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship recipients, Megan Fussell, Brooke DeSimone, and Dylan Miller! Here are their thoughts on being recipients of the scholarship this year:

MEGAN FUSSELL – NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, BIOTECHNOLOGY

1. Please describe how winning the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship(s) has helped your educational and/or career development.

I am incredibly grateful for the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship and the scholarship committee. The scholarship has helped to ease the financial burden of transferring to Northeastern College of Professional Students to complete my Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology. It gives me the opportunity to focus on deep learning and understanding of biotechnology processes which will help to support my future career goals. I have an insatiable curiosity for gene therapy treatments and dream of working in gene therapy R&D.

2. Please describe your future career plans.

I am deeply interested in gene therapy treatments. There are thousands of people living with rare and ultra rare genetic diseases who will greatly benefit from the advancement of gene therapy medicines. There are a number of innovative companies in the greater Boston area exploring these life changing treatments, and it is my plan to pursue a career in R&D or engineering process development within one of these companies.

3. Do you have any words of encouragement for others entering biotech related fields during these challenging times?

The future is bright for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. There are hundreds of applications for the concepts and techniques learned throughout a Biotechnology degree; the skills we learn in college are in high demand and needed now more than ever. Pursuing a degree in Biotech comes with challenges, but the opportunities for personal and career growth are endless. This field is ideal for anyone who wants to contribute towards a positive, lasting impact in society and for our planet.

4. Please note anything else you feel would be relevant.

Few may already know that, prior to enrolling in MCC, I had attended art school for a few years, lived abroad in the UK, had a career in event organization and graduation planning, and many varied life experiences. I decided to return to MCC to pursue the sciences, something that I had always felt curious about. I highly encourage anyone who has curiosity, drive, and passion to consider Biotech for their future career; with an abundance of options, there truly is something for everyone.

 

BROOKE DESIMONE – UMASS DARTMOUTH, BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING & BIOTECHNOLOGY

1. Please describe how winning the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship(s) has helped your educational and/or career development.

I am extremely grateful to be a two-time recipient of the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will significantly reduce the financial burden of pursuing my master’s degree in biomedical engineering and biotechnology at UMass Dartmouth. I typically work throughout the academic year to contribute to my college expenses, but the scholarship will allow me to dedicate more time to my studies and career search.

2. Please describe your future career plans.

Upon graduation in May, I hope to have a career in the pharmaceutical industry working on drug product research and development or gene therapy research.

3. Do you have any words of encouragement for others entering biotech related fields during these challenging times?

For others entering biotechnology fields during these challenging times, think about how your contributions have the potential to improve lives.

 

DYLAN MILLER – NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & BIOCHEMISTRY

1. Please describe how winning the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship(s) has helped your educational and/or career development.

Winning the Joel Goldenberg Memorial Scholarship has helped me be secure in my decision to pursue graduate school and be a financially healthy place to do so.

2. Please describe your future career plans.

After graduating from undergrad, I hope to attend graduate school and conduct research on novel drug delivery methods. Once graduating I hope to work in industry to commercialized novel platforms and make these technologies accessible to as many people as possible.

3. Do you have any words of encouragement for others entering biotech related fields during these challenging times?

Currently, biotechnology is in the forefront of everyone’s mind and every person on the planet has seen the power of vaccination and platform-based technologies can do to shape everyone’s lives. We as engineers need to take this momentum and run with it, mRNA vaccines are just the tip of the iceberg of new technologies that are being developed to help protect and extend people’s lives. Our field again and again helps to save and improve so many lives, despite all of the challenges and obstacles that we face if the science is on our side we can do amazing things and we need to remember that whenever we face a roadblock.

To donate to the ISPE Boston Area Chapter Scholarship Foundation, please visit https://www.ispebcsf.org/donate/ or you can mail a check to:
ISPE Boston Area Chapter Scholarship Foundation
465 Waverley Oaks Road, Suite 421
Waltham, MA 02452