MCC’s Biotech Learn & Earn Experience Off to a Strong Start

Middlesex Community College provides students with the tools they need for continued success. In the spring, the college’s Biotechnology program was identified by the Strategic Grant Partners (SGP) as the recipient of an $841,000 grant. As a result, MCC’s Learn and Earn Experience allows biotech students an opportunity to gain relevant experience in the field as they complete their associate degrees. Two students of the program believe the experience has been positive.

For Rebecca Winebrenner ­ – from Amherst, Ohio – her decision to join the program was influenced by Mariluci Bladon, MCC’s Professor and Chair of the Biotechnology Department.

“Her enthusiasm is contagious and she is so willing to share her knowledge, and it really inspired me to go on that path,” she said. “Upon hearing about the Learn and Earn Experience this past spring, I was immediately interested because it seemed like a great opportunity to fulfill the internship requirement of the biotech program and get work experience.”

Winebrenner started at MCC in 2019 unclear of what she wanted to pursue for her career. With help from her advisors and professors – especially Bladon – she now has a clear career path she is excited about. For her, it helps to gain experience in the field while getting her education.

Hariett Mutesi describes her experience as “amazing.” She came to the U.S. to study biotech and become a researcher. Although the lab components of her classes have been challenging, she believes they are thorough and preparing her for success. The decision to join the Learn and Earn Experience was an easy one once she learned of the benefits.

“I knew for sure that this was a chance for me to take face-to-face and hybrid courses, be matched with appropriate employment opportunities, gain meaningful work skills, and get some money in my pocket as I progress through my course of study,” she said. “The best part of the program is that I have also been able to get some financial assistance which has been a real obstacle in my way to a successful career.”

Mutesi is also grateful for the dedication of all of her professors in the program and thanks them for being “ruthlessly helpful” as she develops a strong foundation and exposure to the necessary lab skills and biological concepts that are required.

Both students believe the experience is helping them hone abilities that are also valuable to being successful in the workforce. Winebrenner and Mutesi are taking classes while working as Manufacturing Technicians at the company partners. While Winebrenner is working at Abbvie Pharmaceuticals, Mutesi is at Takeda.

“Doing the internship and still attending classes at the same time makes me – and the others in the program ­– more desirable to companies in future job interviews,” Winebrenner said. “Experience is highly valued and it can go a long way in finding a job.”

For Mutesi, the program helps reveal what she can expect to do with her education in the future.

“This Learn and Earn Experience will also enable me to see myself as respected, successful, contributing member of the community and workforce with strong goals for my future,” she said. “It’s important to build experiential opportunity right into our academic programs, so learners apply classroom skills to solve real-world problems.”

With the pandemic ongoing, Winebrenner believes having to work at a new job while wearing masks and following social distancing feels strange, but everyone has been welcoming. She also did not want to pause her education as it took her some time to figure out what she wanted to do leading up to her experience at Middlesex and she did not want to wait any longer.

“Graduating is important to me,” she said. “It feels really good to finally be on the right track.”

Mutesi – who has always loved education and wanted to work in healthcare – is up for the additional challenges the pandemic presents, even seeing it as a learning opportunity.

“Education gives us a knowledge of the world around us and changes it into something better,” she said. “It helps us build opinions and have points of view on things in life.”

As they look forward to the future, both Winebrenner and Mutesi feel that MCC is preparing them with a clear path as they finish their associate degrees and gain work experience.

While Winebrenner said, “My experience at Middlesex has been really great. I signed up for classes in the spring of 2019 with no real direction, and the advisors and professors were super eager to help,” Mutesi said, “I truly have to thank Middlesex for going above and beyond to support myself and other students from the program, to receive endless opportunities not only in the biotech career field, but in life.”

MCC will host a virtual Learn and Earn information session online at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10. Contact Stefana Soitos, MCC’s Director of the Learn and Earn Experience, or visit https://www.middlesex.mass.edu/biotechnology/learnandearn.aspx to register.

Register for MCC’s Mini-mester II – an accelerated, eight-week session that starts November 2. Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434 for more information.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!