Lou Townsend, an IGPBS PhD student in the lab of Wally Thoreson, PhD, took home one of the biggest lessons of his recent internship before it even began.
“I’d applied for a completely different location,” Townsend said of his internship with Zoetis, a Fortune 500 animal health company that “discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and other technologies for companion animals and livestock,” according to its website.
But during his job interview, “They thought I would be a better fit for another job in another location.” He ended up getting this other internship, the one he hadn’t even applied for. And though the location was farther away than he initially intended, it ended up being a good fit and a great experience.
That they saw his skills as a fit – and furthermore, a better fit – for something else, and were able to pivot so quickly, impressed him. The lesson sunk in immediately:
“Don’t diminish what you are doing by thinking it is only applicable to one thing,” Townsend said.
“It was less about what I was studying,” which is neuroscience, “but more about the transferable skills I had on my CV,” Townsend said.
“They were looking for both wet and dry lab skills. Someone who also had a lot of imaging experience. They thought (the second internship position) aligned pretty well with my skill set.”
The experience also reassured him that those with PhD backgrounds and skills can be very valuable and sought after in industry. You don’t have to stick to the academic track. A good employer will see your potential. You should follow that example and see your own potential as well.
Turned out, Zoetis saw him as exactly what they were looking for.
The nearly three-month internship ran May 12 through Aug. 8.
Townsend, a fifth-year PhD student, who is working toward graduation in six-to-eight months, is a success story of the IGPBS program. He is the epitome of the IGPBS student that makes his own path.
“I did five rotations total,” he said. “Usually, (IGPBS students) only do three rotations. I committed to one, and I thought that was it. That was not it.”
He met with Karen Gould, PhD, now interim dean of UNMC Graduate Studies, to explain he hadn’t found his fit, and would like to keep looking. She heard him out. “I re-rotated,” he said, and found Dr. Thoreson’s lab.
“He is a really involved and present mentor,” Townsend said. “Wally is always there.”
Now the end is in sight, and what he will be looking for is a job.
“I’m on LinkedIn every other day it seems,” he said. But his internship has helped him clarify what’s possible for someone with his skillset, and what he might be looking for.
“I want to find something that meets that combination of engineering and neuroscience,” he said. “There are a few niche labs that have openings that are on my radar.”
He appreciates the many small lessons he learned from his internship, but especially the big one: “Zoetis was very intentional because they don’t want to miss out on great candidates,” Townsend said. “They were willing to take an unconventional path, and I saw that they were really unique. For that Zoetis will always be on my radar, and I will recommend them.”