"Ninety five percent of my job did not require much brainwork. So, my desire to learn more had increased. I knew that I was neglecting the most important part of my body - my brain, and if I wanted to grow and become successful I had to put my brain to work. I applied for a position and training as a Lab Technician. What is a Lab Technician? I knew that a Lab Technician had something to do with working in a lab, but that was all that I knew and the pay grade was convincing enough to give it a try. To my surprise I was called in for an interview, how exciting! The interview was a success, they seemed to like me and I sure did like them. After the interview the two weeks notice was given and I was out of the old and in with the new. Not knowing exactly what I was going to be doing on my new job was not a concern to me. What I did know was that I was going to learn so much more. I was willing to learn everything and I was fortunate enough to be working with people who were willing to teach me everything. As I entered the new lab my conscience said, 'thank you, thank you'! Obviously it was time to grow. I was surrounded by educated people; everybody in the lab had a degree; everybody was striving for success and I was in the middle of it all. Assisting the students in their experiments was an experience I'll never forget. I was part of a team who was finding a cure for lung cancer! We ran gels, grew bacteria, grew cells, froze cells for future use; I performed experiments on my own-prewritten protocols of course. My brain was developing into a muscle of knowledge. There are always new things to learn in research. Research is a part of all of our lives, we could not move toward the future without it. I want to sincerely thank Dr. Penno who welcomed me and taught me without an ounce of previous experience in research."



Jean


Senior Laboratory Technician
The Johns Hopkins University

Jean began working as a lab technician in 1993 and is in the lab to this day.