Career Preparation at Community College
Contributed by Jayne Smith
Jayne is a part of the initiative in California to couple community colleges with industry partners to earn a Bachelor’s degree in a specialized field and directly feed the industry partner with new, highly qualified employees.
From a very young age, I can remember being asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” by relatives, other adults and even some strangers. The answer to that inquiry varied drastically from age to age. At four years old, I aspired to be a fence (Don’t ask me “Why?”, this is just what I’m told by my mom). When I was 15, after the attacks on September 11th, I wanted to be a firefighter/EMT. As the end of senior year approached, the expectation to decide what to do with the rest of my life lingered over me.
What did I want to be when I “grow up”? I had not decided on anything concrete, but I knew that I wanted to have a career in the sciences. At first, I chose to pursue Animal Sciences with the intent of a career in veterinary medicine but quickly figured that I did not want to spend eight or more years in school and tens of thousands of dollars. After dismissing the quest to be a veterinarian, I briefly wrestled with the idea of nursing and pharmacy school, but I was still hesitant. What I was certain about was my desire to care for others and to make a career in the healthcare industry.
While I was going though an existential crisis to figure out what to do with the rest of my adult life, I enrolled at Solano Community College to plug through my general education courses. You know, all those classes they make you take before you actually start your core undergraduate work. Something like English Composition, a type of introductory Humanities or Sociology and a few random electives like Underwater Basket Weaving (I only kid, but it might be real) or what have you. Long story short, I had taken some time off after completing a short stint at Solano College, knocking out those necessary General ED classes. Life happened, marriage then divorce, a string of dead-end job “opportunities” and then the desire to rekindle my interest in the healthcare industry. A knowledgeable and supportive counselor turned me on to the Industrial Biotechnologies program after asking me the same question I, like many others, have been plagued with since childhood: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” (Posed differently, of course).
What is “Industrial Biotechnologies?”, you may ask. Well, I liken it to a mix of Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and Engineering for application in a large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing setting. The program at Solano College first started as just a certification for an entry level laboratory technician position and has since evolved into its own Associate of Science program and as of very recently, the Biomanufacturing Bachelor of Science was born. The variety of degrees in this program prepares its students with hands on training using real world equipment and applicable practices in the growing Biotech industry. The beauty of being a part of Solano College Biotech family is just that, you are part of a family. The professors who run the program truly care about their students and have designed a curriculum based on equipment and techniques a student would encounter working for a Biotech company. They want all of us to succeed and find lucrative careers in an industry that is growing exponentially around the world. All of this comes with the community college price tag and small class sizes. For the first time in my quest for higher education, it feels like I have found a career field in which I can succeed that will last the test of time.
Post Script
Jayne passed away in January 2019, only a few days after she submitted this piece for publication. I struggled with whether I should post this piece and I decided that Jayne would have wanted her story of success out there to encourage others to follow a similar path. I hope this encourages others to follow in her footsteps and pursue their dreams they find when they are asked what they “want to be when they grow up”!