For three years now WIRED Bio-1 has worked to enhance the bioscience cluster of central New Jersey. Through a grant from the United States Department of Labor Education and Training (USDOLETA)’s WIRED program, Bio-1 has been able to realize its six strategies, reach many people, and affect many lives. The story of Bio-1’s success is not one that can be spoken very easily, however. The difficulty arises from understanding that although Bio-1 may have one major goal, it did not have only one major path. This does not mean that the actions of Bio-1 are too complex for ordinary individuals to discuss, but rather each person’s connection to Bio-1 is different and personal. Many individuals affected by Bio-1’s actions will each have different reasons as to why Bio-1 has been able to aid them. Furthermore, different participants will have different reasons as to why Bio-1 was necessary. Only through these differences in experience is the story of Bio-1 fittingly told.
Bio-1 is only one of 39 WIRED regions to create a final report upon conclusion, but what separates Bio-1’s final report from the others, is the means of how it was all created. A very important Bio-1 goal was to keep students interested in the sciences. Through various programs and events, Bio-1 worked towards this goal. One of the means of achieving this was to directly reach out to high school students and offer them the chance to gain career experience within a bioscience related field. For the past two years Biotechnology High School, a Career Academy school in Monmouth County, has aided Bio-1 in this venture. Biotech High School requires its graduating class to complete a three week internship before graduation. Throughout the past two years, Bio-1 has acted as a host to four graduating seniors from the school each year, allowing the students to complete their internship at Bio-1. The Class of 2010, in particular, offered 4 great students to Bio-1 for their three week internship. These four students worked amongst a group of college students who were also completing an internship at Bio-1.
The report, which summarizes major funded programs, was placed in the hands of the student interns. This newly organized student team was given the responsibility to properly portray the outcome of Bio-1’s work and achievements. Even in its conclusion, Bio-1 was still working to mold the future generation. It was necessary for the report to be completed by students, as it would offer an unseen perspective on the organization of the data. Not only would the students gain the necessary group skills and work experience, but they would also obtain and present their findings much differently the expected. It would offer a refreshing breath to the Bio-1 report and as a result also allow the report to stand out.
The Biotech Students, Elaine Wong, Phillip Murray, Zachary Bregman and Eric Tweeten worked alongside Rutgers Undergraduates Jungki Kim, Anya Stoupine and Alvin Nyaboga. Elaine and Jungki worked on the initial template for the report while Anya, Alvin, Zach, Phillip and Eric worked on information retrieval and developed initial reports describing each Bio-1 project, achievement, outcome and focus. The students worked as a team, with appointed leader Zachary Bregman, towards creating a report that would not only completely serve its purpose but also impress the directors and Governance Board.
With the guidance of the Bio-1 staff, the Bio-1 Final Report became a reality and the work completed by the team was instantly noticed. One of the directions taken for the report that quickly separated it from other reports was the implementation of personal success stories. A majority of Bio-1’s highlighted programs were followed by personal stories from past participants. These participants were able to offer a different view of the benefits and successes of each program, as well as offer a realistic view of how Bio-1 has not only affected the bioscience industry but the lives of its workforce.
The completion of the report would last longer than the three week internship of the Biotech High School students. The Rutgers Undergrads, however, were more than ready to tackle the increased responsibilities. Anya Stoupine accepted the role as template designer onto her writing duties, and Alvin Nyaboga worked as the draft writer for any information going into the report, while Jungki Kim worked as a specialist for any technical problems related to the completion of the project.
At this point, the final phases of report development were underway. The necessary edits were made to not only ensure the report was professional but engaging. A report can hold as much information as deemed necessary but if it does not engage the reader then the message goes to waste. The Bio-1 report was formed in a way to offer as much attention grabbing visuals as mind stimulating texts. Through this, not only was the report able to offer the necessary information needed to showcase Bio-1’s achievements but it also offered a personal and relatable aspect.
The Bio-1 Final Report offers vast amounts of information regarding past projects and future capabilities. Through this report all readers will be able to witness the strides made for workforce development in the bioscience industry, if not in the information provided then in the sole creation of the report itself. This report is not the typical number crunching, hammer to the head document that most people have come to hate. Instead, this report is a personal, vivid and appealing tribute to the several projects and programs which have allowed Bio-1 to reinvigorate the bioscience sector of New Jersey.
