Career Day mixes students,
science
By Keenan Singleton
Daily Cougar Staff
In an effort to acclimate students to the
competitive worlds of biology and biochemistry, the UH department of biology
and biochemistry is
sponsoring the fifth annual Bioscience
Career Day for graduate and undergraduate students from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thursday in the
Athletic/Alumni Center.
Unlike similar events that place students
in interview-type situations where they are auditioning for jobs, this
fair promises to be a bit different in its
approach.
"This isn't a job fair," said Suzanne Scott
Lewis, undergraduate laboratory supervisor/instructor. "Like a job fair,
it does expose students to various
careers, but they are placed in front
of professors and scientists, not human resources employees."
The event will include representatives
from graduate and undergraduate schools and companies in Houston and surrounding
areas that are
looking to place UH students in various
positions.
"We've invited representatives from a wide
variety of schools," Lewis said. "We've invited the Environmental Protection
Agency; we invited the City
of Houston Health Department. All the
biotech companies in the area will be in attendance."
Lewis also explained that the fair will
include numerous schools from the UH campus, not just the department of
biology and biochemistry.
"The schools of optometry and pharmacy
have booths, as well as many medical schools in the area," she said.
Last year more than 550 students attended
the event, Lewis said.
"They got the opportunity to talk to scientists
about how they got to where they are now," she said.
Students also have the chance to bear witness
to talks every half-hour. Speakers include John Walsh (the president of
BioHouston), UH Vice
Chancellor of Research and Intellectual
Property Arthur Valias, Linda Guardiola from the University of Texas-Houston
and others.
The fair will also include representatives
from BioHouston, the new research company in charge of the BioTech incubator
in the Texas Medical
School. The BioHouston representatives
will speak at 11:30 a.m.
Participants will also be able to explore
ongoing research in the Gulf Coast region and learn about summer internships.
"The Career Day is a great opportunity,
and it's purely for the students," Lewis said.
