Matthew Landell, COL ’23, Rosedale, NY/USA
This summer I was named a Breakthrough Fellow at Pfizer Pharmaceuticals on the Medical Excellence Team. As a fellow this summer, I completed the first component from Pfizer’s initiative to advance students of Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic and Native American descent. Following this summer, I was then offered the opportunity to work full time, as well as a fully paid scholarship to a two year Master’s program of my choice. I was enormously grateful for my experience this summer as I learned more about the health industry and how I can shape my own career within it.
Before this program, while I knew about my interest in the health industry, my knowledge of my possible career paths were very limited. In turn, I entered the summer with the goal of networking with as many Pfizer employees as possible to expand my knowledge and perspective. As I worked and reached out to various colleagues, I managed to learn not only about how companies and their various functions can influence the health industry, but also how I as a young professional can navigate my career through that in order to have the positive impact I desire in healthcare. My experiences from this summer provided me with both the insight and the network I feel will help me succeed in my professional journey.
I am enormously grateful for the funding that Career Services provided because it helped support me throughout my summer experience. Overall, my time this summer has served as a humongous stepping stone in the healthcare industry, and I look forward to continuing to learn more about the ways I can contribute. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2022 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here.
