Kara Gillmann '21

1) What are some skills/competencies (NACE) that you developed during your internship?

During this internship, I was able to refine my critical thinking skills as I was responsible for reading and summarizing primary literature, deciding which papers were most applicable to the company’s drug candidate, and drafting grant application documents using these references. In doing so, I also learned more about biology in general as well as the careers available in the biotechnology industry, which was beneficial for my career management. Finally, I was able to improve my teamwork skills in a remote yet professional setting, as I was responsible for working both individually and in a team in order to plan, carry out, and identify any gaps within the company’s goals for each week.

2) How does this experience connect to your future career goals?

This experience was helpful for my career goals as I was able to practice reading and writing scientifically, which is a skill I will be using throughout the rest of my career at Holy Cross and beyond whether in industry or graduate school. I also really appreciated getting the opportunity to participate in the grant writing process, as this is necessary to secure funding in any type of scientific endeavor and I expect that I will be required to write more grants moving forward as I become more active in biology research.

3) What advice would you give to other Holy Cross students?

I would advise other Holy Cross students to make the most of the opportunities given to them. In the beginning of this internship, I was nervous about how the remote setting would work but I ended up having a really great experience and learning a lot even if it was not a traditional in-person internship. Moving forward, there will probably be a lot more remote internship opportunities available rather than in-person but that should not hold you back from applying because you can still learn a lot about your major and career opportunities you might not have known about before.