ALUMNI SUCCESS
Alumni Success
Are you an FC Biotech alumni and wish to be featured on our website? Visit our contact page and fill out a contact form!
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – KEVIN HAZAMA
Kevin received his Laboratory Assistant certificate from the FC Biotech program, with his favorite biotech course being BIOL 191 (Basic Laboratory Skills)! He continued his education at UC Irvine where he earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences. One obstacle that Kevin faced at Fullerton College is ” a less sense of belonging in comparison to peers who attended a 4-year university for their whole time of education”. To overcome this, he “encourages students to be social and seek people whether at FC or elsewhere”. Kevin currently works as a Medical Laboratory Scientist at Vitalant.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT- AAMINA USMANI
Aamina is a FC Biotechnology alumni and has obtained an A.S. in Biological Technician and an A.A. in Medical Technology from the college. Currently Aamina is working on earning a Bachelor’s of Science in Biomanufacturing at MiraCosta College, and plans to graduate in Spring 2024! Following graduation, she is aiming at work at a biotech company in the Research and Development or Manufacturing fields. Aamina is currently a research intern at Open Biopharma Research and Training Institute and was recently promoted to President of ISPE!
Aamina’s advice to current and incoming students:
“Don’t be afraid to fail or worry about finishing school in a certain time frame. I failed two classes but then succeeded by learning from my mistakes, taking those classes again, using my time to study extra harder, and reaching out to professors whenever I was struggling. My advice to students is that you should know your classmates so that you don’t feel lonely and have extra support. Always go to office hours (Dr. Rosales and Dr. Dimitratos are always there to help)! Also, set a study schedule so that you don’t fall behind and fully use all the resources available on campus.”
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – ASHLEY HILDEBRANDT
Ashley is a Fullerton College Biotech Program alumna and has taken Biol 190 and Biol 190L. She transferred to UCR in fall of 2019 and received a bachelor’s of science degree in Biology. Ashley was a former FC Biotech Team member in 2018-2019, where she assisted the team in outreach events such as the Biotech Open House.
Ashley is currently a QC Lab Technician at BioRad – she just started this new role at the beginning of April! She also plans to come back to Fullerton College to complete all the Biotech classes to earn all her certificates.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – STEPHANIE HARCHENKO
A big shout out to Stephanie Harchenko! Stephanie is a Fullerton College Biotech Program alumna and has earned all three biotech certificates! She received a bachelors degree in Biochemistry at UC Irvine and is currently a year 1 graduate student studying cancer biology at UCSD. In addition to participating in the biotech program, her research experience includes:
- Project RAISE Undergraduate Research at Cal State Fullerton
- BRIDGES at UCI
- MARC-NIH scholar at UCI
- MHIRT at UCI/King’s College London
“The Biotech Program gave me the skills I needed to skip 2 weeks of training in any of the research programs, and got me working on research much faster than most other interns. I was also able to work in a COVID-19 test manufacturing R&D facility as soon as the pandemic started and was almost immediately promoted to a senior lab position”.
Stephanie has always had a general love for chemistry and her words of encouragement to other students interested in majoring in STEM are “Yes, it is a lot of work. But the work you put in, you’ll reap in rewards. Later, your list of accomplishments stack up and the job security is so worth it. There is a boundless list of opportunities which could lead to a program paying you to traveling abroad. Every opportunity you find, take it, and you won’t regret it”.
Stephanie’s goals after earning her PhD is to work in a company that is actively working on new treatments for cancer that would not be as toxic as many chemotherapies that are currently offered now.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – EDWARD OROPEZA
A big shout out to Edward Oropeza! Edward is a FC Biotech alumni, having earned two certificates with our program. He has transferred to UC Irvine and is pursuing a degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. Edward also participated in the Amgen Biotech Experience and has used the skills gained through ABE and our program to pursue multiple research internships at UCI, USC, and CU Boulder. To learn more about Edward’s story, visit the ABE website!
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – LITZIA GALVAN
Big shout out to our alumna Litzia! After receiving her Laboratory Assistant certificate from the FC biotech program Litzia transferred to UC Santa Cruz where she received her bachelors in marine biology and interned at the college’s Science Center with her mentors Joan Muller and Megan Tyrell.
She is currently doing fieldwork at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve where she works alongside other researchers monitoring changes in salt marsh ecosystems. Her studies include measuring surface elevation, adjusting vegetation plots, deploying donde devices and setting up camera traps. These studies are helpful in monitoring biological and physiological changes in salt marshes that could rapidly progress due to climate change.
Biotech and your Career Goals Seminar
Our alumni panel talks about their experience in our program and how they utilized their certificates to establish the careers they have today. In this seminar we learn a little bit about the diverse career options available to students with our certificates and which skills our alumni use most at their jobs. Hear their advice to students about courses and what things students can do to get the most out of college and our biotechnology program!
Featuring Alumni Speakers
Brandi Castle – Bioprocess Technician
Vela Council – Physician’s Assistant Student
Albert Esparza – Biotechnology Manufacturing
Belgica Garcia – Senior PCR Technician
Stephanie Harchenko – PhD Student
Click image to watch our seminar!