September 5, 2003
Personal Success Stories
Regina Whitaker, Forsyth Tech Biotechnology Student
Regina Whitaker, age 24, worked at Unifi a textile company in Yadkinville for four years. She began as a twisting operator and while there had several jobs in the company – steadily moving up to working in quality assurance. However Unifi, like several manufacturing companies in the Triad are laying off workers. Regina has seven, choose seven family members who work for Unifi and they face the possibility of losing their jobs too. Regina however decided to do something before she lost her job. "I quit before I was laid-off," she said.
She enrolled in the medical assisting class at Forsyth Technical Community College. After one semester in medical assisting, Regina read something in a Forsyth Tech class listing that set her on a different educational and career path. "I learned of the biotechnology program and said this is it, this is what I want to do. I think I went that day and changed my major. I had a class in biotechnology in high school; it's biotechnology has been in the back of my mind ever since."
Regina entered the biotech program spring 2003 and expects to graduate spring 2004.
So far she's taken microbiology, organic and biochemistry as well as statistics. "This semester I'm taking genetics, basic laboratory technique and introduction to the internet."
She's also a lab assistant in the chemistry department and a work-study student for one of the instructors in the chemistry department.
"After graduating, I want to get into the biotechnology field as an entry-level lab assistant, maybe research." Regina said. Eventually she would like to earn a bachelor's degree in biotechnology perhaps at Winston-Salem State University. "I'd like to see myself there and down the road earn a master's. I have a very long drawn-out plan. I may be 50 by the time I finish. I want to make a career this time, not just be a factory worker."
Ricky Jones Forsyth Tech Biotechnology Student
Ricky Jones, age 45, considers himself a life student. He's a 1993 graduate of Winston-Salem State University with a degree in psychology. He also attended Forsyth Tech in the past earning a certificate in massage therapy and is a Navy veteran.
Currently, he's working at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in Winston-Salem in the Maintenance Apprenticeship Program. R.J. Reynolds has announced the possibility of layoffs so Mr. Jones began thinking of a new career.
Jones came back to Forsyth Tech to study biotechnology. He heard about the program from a friend and began classes this fall. "I was impressed that there were so many Ph.Ds. teaching the courses rather than grad students. Since I was in the military I see a lot of that will be going towards biotechnology. More than likely in the near future . . . you'll need more biotechnologists."
At Reynolds he works third shift 12:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. His first class begins at 11:30 a.m. "Going to school is not hard, the study is." His future hopes are to one day work in a in a lab or in a hospital. He also wants to continue with school. "My plan is to get a bachelor's degree in biotechnology."
Jean Canady Forsyth Tech Biotechnology Student
Jean Canday, age 32, was a student at Forsyth Tech eight years ago in the college transfer program. She went on to UNC-Greensboro and majored in exercise physiology, but she became pregnant and didn't have an opportunity to finish school.
After her daughter Tatum, now four years old, was born Jean went to work at Corrflex Display and Packaging not far from where she grew up in Rural Hall. There she worked as a line coordinator supervising a crew of 20-30 people who worked on a production line. She was laid-off last October.
She decided to come back to Forsyth Tech after she saw a newspaper article about the college's biotechnology program. "I had been thinking about going back to school. I had taken some night classes. When I got laid-off I was like, I'm gonna do it now." She decided on biotechnology in part because there weren't many jobs in exercise physiology.
Ms. Canady began the biotech program this January. Classes she's taken so far include biotechnology 2, and humanities. She sees some differences in going back to school now compared to before. "It was kind of hard getting back in the groove. The hardest part is taking the time to study. I didn't have a child back then. It's hard to get back into studying with a small child."
She says she likes the smaller class size at Forsyth Tech. "It's a lot more hands-on, a lot more interaction with the professors than when I was at UNC-G. She expects to graduate in May or by the summer.
Scott Barton Forsyth Tech Biotechnology Student
Scott Barton, age 41, enrolled in Forsyth Tech's biotechnology program last fall. Originally from Winston-Salem, he had been living in Atlanta for the last 16 years. He was working for Whitfield's Restaurant as a server and dining room supervisor when the company was sold. He was out of a job.
He saw an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about biotechnology. While still in Atlanta, he looked for a new opportunity. "I researched this biotechnology from there and I knew that we were undergoing a renaissance here in this town and we were losing the manufacturing and textile industries." He said he had been following the emerging biotech field here in Winston-Salem. "I took the liberty of going to Targacept and some labs. They said this [the biotechnology program at Forsyth Tech] was a program that was brand new and this is where I should go. I knew this was a secure field."
Scott had attended Appalachian State University and received is bachelor's degree form Georgia State. "I actually have a liberal arts degree so this is a 360 degree change. The irony is I'm immersed in everything I've spent my whole life avoiding, science and math."
A lot of the things he's learning are new to Scott. He said he didn't have a background in Science. "The hardest part is just making myself study. I found out that there are a lot brighter kids in the classes than me so I just try to work harder." While in school, Scott works full-time at a local restaurant. There he's met a lot of the people involved locally in the biotechnology program.
He already knows what he'd like to do after graduating. "I'm really interested in DNA, but if I got into a company that was goal oriented like working on cancer drugs or something like that…that would be of interest."
