I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology, and I am currently working as an environmental chemist analyzing samples for lead and asbestos. I am currently also pursuing my Master’s of Biotechnology here at Elms and planning to graduate in Spring 2026. I found the program at Elms College after someone I went to high school with reached out to me, and when looking at the program further, it just screamed me.
I needed to work full-time, so I needed to find a program and have the flexibility to work and go to school. This program has really given me that flexibility where a lot of other programs had classes that I would have to go to during the week, and I just couldn’t do that. Working full time and going to school is exhausting, but honestly, Elms has made it super doable. Between the professors being just so accommodating, recording their classes, and pretty much having everything online, it’s been easy to manage.
I love being in the laboratory, and doing two research projects gives me the fulfillment that I have been seeking. So I am hoping that these research projects will help me find a career after. In my first research project with Dr. Williams, I have been working on microbiome characterization and trying to identify yeast in various horse grains, which is part of an overall big research project to see what is actually working for the horse. My other research project is with Dr. Saman, doing breast cancer research to determine if a cosmetic chemical is cancerous or not. They are both super interesting. The actual technology and the science that goes behind them both, they overlap, but in different areas.
At Elms, I have been able to learn all the various new tools that we have, I have been working in my current field for three years now and there is so much technology that I have been introduced to at Elms that I didn’t get a chance to use in undergrad.
Biotechnology programs are not very widespread, and the fact that this program at Elms is in Biotechnology, I feel like that is going to give me an edge when I graduate, to say that I have a master’s in Biotechnology. Especially with all the new technology coming out.
I would definitely encourage people who want a biotechnology degree to come to Elms. With the small class size and the professors being so accommodating, they really want to see you succeed. And if you have questions, they will answer them immediately.