Ivy Tech biotech student hired ‘on the spot’ at career fair: Certificate programs are preparing students to qualify for local pharma jobs amid workforce shortage

​Ivy Tech Community College biotechnology student, Rachelle Price (Wehr), started classes this past summer and secured employment in her field. Price was hired on the spot at a local Catalent career fair.
 
“I was whisked away to multiple people upon hearing I was an Ivy Tech biotech student,” Price said. “I felt like a hot commodity, and through my classes on FDA regulations, biotech terminology and pharmaceutical production practices, I was able to talk confidently about my skills and what I could offer the team.”
 
Price attended the career fair on the advice of her professor Dr. Lee who she says has encouraged her since she entered the program. She ultimately plans to move up in her new career and continue her education. “I am considering microbiology and other life sciences classes,” she said. “As a kid, I dreamed of becoming a scientist and now I am well on my way!”
 
Before Price started biotechnology classes at Ivy Tech, she was working in a lower wage career. With her boys now teens, she decided she wanted a new job that would help her reach her family’s overall goals. “I wanted more. More money, a better work environment, and more opportunities to provide for my family,” she said.

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Price is benefitting from Ivy Tech’s new Ivy+ tuition model that includes free books through the 2022-2023 academic year, and access to them on the first day of classes. “Textbook buying is a big cost for a mom of two teen boys, she said. “The free books has been a game changer – it makes starting class a breeze.”
 
With flexible class attendance options, 8-week classes, free textbooks, and online courses at Ivy Tech, Price says that she has reached her goals faster than she ever could have imagined. “I am now earning more than I ever did … and we are working on buying a bigger home for our family, something that would have been impossible just a few years ago.”
 
Ivy Tech biotechnology certificates prepare students for local life sciences jobs, and can be completed in less than a year. Eligible students could earn their certificate tuition-free with Indiana’s Next Level Jobs Workforce Ready Grant. For more information on tuition-free biotechnology certificates and the biotechnology associate degree program, visit www.ivytech.edu/bloomington/NLJ.
 
Ivy Tech accepts applications year-round at www.ivytech.edu/apply, and has classes that start multiple times per year for quicker entry and graduation. For more information about getting started at Ivy Tech Bloomington, contact [email protected] or call 812-330-6013.