Autumn Durfey

Major: Biology (pre-med emphasis)

Year of Graduation: 2007

Graduate School: I am planning to attend in the future.

Please give a brief description of your current position:

I work as a Microbiologist for Boston Scientific in St. Paul, MN.  Boston Scientific is a medical device manufacturer and the area in which I specialize is Cardiovascular and Endoscopy.  Currently, I am traveling between the Minnesota sites and the Miami Boston Scientific site, which has allowed me to gain more experience in the field of Microbiology from many different perspectives.

What path did you follow to arrive at your current job?

I learned about my job through connections that I gained while at CSB/SJU.  Greg Becker, the school's photographer, knew one of the managers in the Microbiology department at Boston Scientific.  I worked with Greg and he knew I was a biology major; he forwarded my name/contact information to Boston Scientific.  I was not planning on taking a full-time position following graduation, but because the opportunity arrived, I decided to temporarily place my other plans aside.

What advice/suggestions would you have for students who might be interested in your career?

Networking is key to not only gaining job and career opportunities, but also is a great life skill to have.  Use Career Services at CSB/SJU to enhance your networking skills and really understand what "networking" is all about.

What skills are important in your field?

Communication, adherence to detail, being thorough, a broad knowledge of microbiology, and persistence.

What is the most satisfying/rewarding part of your job? Most challenging?

I get satisfaction out of knowing that I am helping others medically in need of our services and devices; although I do not have patient contact, I know that my efforts have a positive impact on others.  I am most challenged by the drastic change a full-time job is from the academia lifestyle.  Although I appreciate my job and the opportunity it has allowed me to have, I do have personal issues I deal with daily working for such a big corporation.

What activities/experiences were helpful at CSB/SJU (and elsewhere) in preparation for this career?

My professors and classes prepared me for the microbiology aspect of my job.  The extra-curricular activities I participated in have helped me with the interaction, communication, and mediation side of my job.  I have taken my experiences from the cross-country team to the Peer Resource Program (PRP's) and utilized them in one way or another at my job.  My advice to all students is to focus and study hard, but make sure that you get your hands wet in other aspects of the whole college experience. The skills and experiences you gain in extra-curricular activities are the skills that you will remember and use forever.