Bunker Hill Community College Holds Biomedical Careers Graduation Ceremony

The following was sent to us by Bunker Hill Community College. It has not been edited.

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) celebrated the graduation of 18 students from the Cambridge Biomedical Careers Program (CBCP) in a ceremony that also marked the 20th anniversary of the program.  CBCP is a collaborative effort between BHCC’s Workforce Development Center, the Just-A-Start Corporation and the City of Cambridge. It targets low-income Cambridge residents who complete – at no cost – a nine-month intensive 18-credit program that provides the academic background and hands-on skills needed to gain entry-level biotech jobs in the greater Cambridge area.

Gordon Gottsche, Executive Director of Just-A-Start, made opening remarks at the ceremony, held on May 9. Dr. James Canniff, BHCC’s Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services gave an official welcome on behalf of the College. Representative Alice Wolf (Cambridge) congratulated both Just-A-Start and BHCC on the success of the program.

CBCP’s placement rate is more than 70 percent and has an average starting salary of nearly $36,000 and an average graduation rate of 88 percent.  More than 360 BHCC graduates are currently employed in 15 or more local biotech firms, from start-ups to well-established international companies.

“The program is a wonderful example of successful collaboration between industry and education,” said BHCC Executive Director of Workforce Development Les Warren. “It shows that BHCC is making a contribution to the biotechnology field in what is often called ‘the biotech capital of the world’.”