BLINN NURSING STUDENT USING ONE DEGREE TO HELP PAY FOR THE OTHER

  

Shiner native, Faith Kalich, never expected that the skills she gained with her associate degree would immediately help pay for her bachelor’s degree.

After earning her Associate of Applied Science degree in Biotechnology Laboratory Sciences from Blinn College, Kalich found immediate employment as a laboratory technician with the company where she interned, allowing her to pursue her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Texas A&M University-Texarkana at the RELLIS campus.

During the final semester of her AAS degree, Kalich interned at STgenetics, a Navasota company that uses science and technology to improve herd genetics. After she graduated, STgenetics hired her as a laboratory technician.

Last spring, Kalich began pursuing her bachelor’s degree. After transferring the credits she earned at Blinn, she will graduate this winter with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a chemistry minor from Texas A&M University-Texarkana at Texas A&M-RELLIS.

While she completes her bachelor’s degree, Kalich is working part-time as a laboratory assistant at Precision Toxicology. She credits Blinn with introducing her to a career she is passionate about.

Kalich said that she paid for the entire semester with what she made last summer.

Based on the Bryan Campus and designed to meet the growing needs of the biotechnology industry, Blinn’s Biotechnology Laboratory Sciences Program teaches basic laboratory skills, U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, and good manufacturing practices, which prepare graduates for employment in a variety of regulated laboratory environments.

The Biotechnology Laboratory Sciences Program is part of Blinn’s Division of Natural and Physical Sciences, which also includes degree programs in biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and veterinary technology. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/biotechnology-laboratory-sciences.