I would like to thank Elaine Amir and Dr. Bonnie Diehl for inviting me to speak today. I am here to give you some insight into my own experience with the Biotechnology program at this Montgomery County campus. It began about 2 years ago when I was looking for courses broaden my science education. My undergraduate degree is a BA in Biology. I deliberately chose the BA route to avoid having to take any more chemistry courses than was absolutely necessary. After working in the sequencing lab for some time at The Institute for Genomic Research, I finally conceded the fact that I would have to give in and take some formal Biochemistry classes. Johns Hopkins Biotechnology program provided me with the perfect opportunity to do just that. The school has an excellent reputation and having a satellite campus just a block away from work was extremely convenient. The scope of the program allowed me to take the science courses I needed along with the business and computer courses I wanted. I have found my time at Hopkins to be invaluable. As I moved from Reseach Associate to Team Leader to Training Specialist, the education I recieved, especially the management classes, made it easier for me to take on more responsibility.

It is certainly a great opportunity for Montgomery County residents as well as residents of the Washington D.C. greater metropolitan area, to have access to quality graduate level education at Johns Hopkins. And, with so many Biotechnology and research organizations located in this area, Hopkins has served the community well by providing a means for employees to keep up with advances in this field. There are at least 10 people from TIGR who have taken or are taking classes in Biotechnology at this campus. It has been advantageous for us to have such a resource so conveniently located.

On behalf of the students in the Biotechnology program, I would like to thank the administration at Hopkins for putting together a program that is flexible and progressive. This enables students like me to keep pace with a dynamic field and obtain skills for the future. We look forward to Hopkins continued support of these graduate studies and to the continued expansion of the Biotechnology Program which today begins with groundbreaking for the next building.