宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 senior Toma Lazar in the lab at Catalent Pharma Solutions.
阿宾顿,爸爸. — Toma Lazar started his undergraduate career as a 生物学 major but switched to computer science. He then earned a second bachelor’s degree in philosophy as well as a master’s degree in business and one in information science.
Lazar worked in the technology sector for a few years. Feeling dissatisfied with IT, he decided in the fall of 2019 to pursue his first passion — science. On May 7 he will graduate from 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 有一个 生物学 with the genetics and developmental 生物学 option. 他自夸得了4分。.平均成绩0分.
“I’m really happy about how this has turned out. People say they’ve never seen me so happy,” he said.
Lazar recently completed a nine-month paid co-op experience in gene therapy, which is the genetic modification of cells to treat diseases by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. 的合作社, 这是全职的, affirmed his interest in pursuing a research career in the pharmaceutical industry.
He worked in Baltimore for Catalent Pharma Solutions, which he initially connected with at the semiannual Career Expo presented by 阿宾顿’s Career and Professional Development.
Lazar was a downstream process development co-op. Downstream process development is the concentration and purification of biological materials used to make pharmaceuticals. He worked on projects that targeted a variety of diseases including cystic fibrosis, 癌症, 脑膜炎, and metachromatic leukodystrophy, 或MLD.
“It was special to apply what I learned in classroom, and at the co-op I learned the difference between the academic setting and the real world."
—Toma Lazar, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 senior
He worked with professional scientists, often pulling 12- and 14-hour days in the lab with them.
“There were a bunch of different teams working with different projects. It was interesting working with professionals. They were pretty committed to teaching me so I could learn the skills and processes,” he said. “It helped that I had a basis for lab work already.”
Lazar also was able to experience a real world part of the professional environment that most students don’t see in the classroom or a college lab: client meetings.
“We met with clients and put together presentations to show the clients the results. You share with the client that you did a certain process,” he said.
“It was special to apply what I learned in classroom, and at the co-op I learned the difference between the academic setting and the real world. We asked questions like: ‘Why did we get the results we got? Is this actually the best result we can expect?’”拉扎尔说.
After spending years in college, Lazar encourages adult students to take the first steps in returning to school.
“It becomes very rewarding to put yourself out there. It is a risk, but you’re not going to reap the benefit if you don’t try,” he said.
About 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校
宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 provides an affordable, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 大约3个,700名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 23 majors, 本科研究, the Schreyer honors program, NCAA Division III athletics, 和更多的.
