Tuesday, April 28, 2015

See What Alumnus Michael Wilkinson is doing post-graduation and the advice he has for current students!

  

Since graduating from the UMass Lowell Sociology program back in December, I have found a job working for the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development at Tufts University. At the Tufts CSDD I have been working with Microsoft Excel and S&P Capital IQ, to do research on operating pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. I have also assisted in writing several letters of solicitation to various companies and foundations, proposing projects that we might do in exchange for grant funding. However, the most interesting thing I have done has been to propose a long-term, multimillion dollar precision medicine research collaboration to senior members of the Tufts CSDD and Northeastern University.

I could never have landed this research job without support from the entire faculty of the Sociology Department. In particular Professor Charlotte Ryan and Jannette Marquez were instrumental in helping me during my time at UML and in completing and presenting my Honors Thesis.

My advice for current students would be to be sure and embrace all the resources you have at your disposal, especially the professors that teach your classes. Every member of the Sociology department is more than happy to help you with any trouble you may be having and even just to chat about mundane topics. They will greatly enjoy hearing what you have to say and you just might make a friend for life. Feel free to drop in and talk to Jannette at any time too, she gets lonely in her office. Also never underestimate the value of the critical thinking skills you are taught in the sociology classroom. While you might not be able to directly put this on your resume or brag about it on a list of your accomplishments, it is a skill that will help you for the remainder of your lives and shape the way you see the world. 

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