Carlos Oviedo

MassBay Community College alum Carlos Oviedo of Roslindale, MA, credits the hands-on biotech lab coursework he completed with MassBay biotechnology professor Dr. Nirmal Singh for helping him land a position as a product development assistant in the COVID lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, MA.

“The skills I learned in Professor Singh’s courses helped me understand techniques in a lab setting, which are pivotal in my role at the Broad Institute,” said Carlos. “At MassBay I had the opportunity to work on advanced technology, such as Polymerase Chain Reaction and NanoDrop, which gave me a competitive edge when I was interviewing. When I talk to my peers at other colleges they don’t have as much experience with these types of machines. I am grateful for the small class sizes at MassBay, which allowed me to feel more comfortable with my courses and gave me more access to my professors. I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities at another college.”

Carlos, a first-generation college student, graduated from the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers in Boston, MA, in the spring of 2016, but didn’t even considering attending college. “I wasn’t a dedicated student in high school, but decided I needed to do something after I graduated, so I applied at MassBay. At MassBay, I learned that I loved learning and my whole prospective on school changed,” added Carlos.

Carlos enrolled in MassBay’s Associate of Science Degree in Biotechnology program, immersed himself in his lab work, and started planning his career path. During his second semester, he learned about the Bridges to Baccalaureate Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, which is a full-time, 10-week, paid, research-intensive summer internship program for community college students at MassBay, Bunker Hill Community College, and Roxbury Community College. “I applied and was accepted to the Bridges to Baccalaureate Program, where I was able to use the skills from my biotechnology classes to further my research skills. It was really got me more excited to continue on this career path to make a difference with scientific research,” Carlos said.

Carlos attended MassBay for two years before he transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2018 through the MassTransfer program. He graduated from UMass Amherst with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology in February 2021. In addition to his role at the Broad Institute, Carlos is also currently employed at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, MA as an operation room technician. His future career goals include becoming a physician and working in clinical patient care.