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Recently, biology major Christine Fitzherbert ’08 (Ringwood, N.J.) got to see the broad spectrum of job opportunities available to her during an externship at GlaxoSmithKline.
Biology graduate Rick Gontarek ’89, associate director in the department of enzymology and mechanistic pharmacology, served as her guide at the major pharmaceutical company.
As a result of her externship, Fitzherbert believes she has more career options.
“I learned more about the research and drug discovery process and that there are several types of scientists who work together in different departments,” says Fitzherbert. “This experience has given me the option of pursuing biological research in pharmaceuticals.”
Gontarek is happy to provide Lafayette students with this unique opportunity.
“It is exciting to work with undergraduates knowing that the externship may provide some inspiration for them to further their education in science or to pursue a career in research,” says Gontarek. “It is also rewarding to feel like I am giving something back to the Lafayette community.”
Fitzherbert enjoyed the time she spent working with Gontarek.
“It was fun to talk about Lafayette then and now,” says Fitzherbert. “He was very eager to help, and everyone I met with was extremely nice.”
Gontarek believes Fitzherbert demonstrated her curiosity and took advantage of the resources available to her.
“Christine was a pleasure to work with. She was very eager to learn about oncology drug discovery, and she enjoyed meeting with the people who play different but critical roles in pharmaceutical research, such as biochemists, clinical scientists, medicinal chemists, pharmacologists, cell biologists,” says Gontarek. “This exposure has hopefully shown her more career options available to biology majors, and therefore may benefit her as she weighs her options for life after Lafayette.”
While the future is unknown, Fitzherbert now has a bolstered confidence in the field she wants to pursue after graduation.
“I am still not sure whether I want to go straight into the industry or continue my education in graduate school,” says Fitzherbert. “I did learn that there are people of all levels of education in the pharmaceutical business. I do know that I want to do biological research in some area at some point in my life.”