Bunker Hill Community College Student Speaks at 2012 BIO International Convention
Friday, June 29, 2012
Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) graduate Ana Maria Ovalle represented the College at the 9th annual Community College program at the 2012 BIO International Convention at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on June 18th. Ovalle was one of five presenters who spoke on a panel titled “Faces of Success: Our Graduates and their Careers.” She spoke about how her community college experience prepared her for her current paid summer internship at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, a Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company focused on improving cancer treatment worldwide.
Ovalle, originally from Colombia, graduated with an Associate in Science degree in Biotechnology from BHCC on June 2, 2012. She applied to the internship with Millennium online and said her experience at BHCC helped her thrive. “BHCC definitely provided me with the basic concepts, lab techniques and soft skills required to succeed in any biotech setting,” she said. Ovalle is in the Cell Culture: Process Development Group at Millennium where she works on growing and developing cell culture processes that contribute to cancer research.
The day-long community college program at the BIO International Convention was organized by BioLink, a national organization created to improve and expand educational programs that prepare skilled technicians to work in the biotechnology field. The program featured perspectives on biotechnology education, training and the workforce from community college educators and their industry partners. The graduates on the panel were successful industry professionals who gained employability skills at community and technical colleges nationwide.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts, enrolling approximately 18,000 students annually. BHCC has two campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, and a number of other locations throughout the Greater Boston area. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Sixty-five percent of the students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls nearly 600 international students who come from 94 countries and speak more than 75 languages.