The family that studies together…
A mother-daughter duo pursues biotech certification in Burlington
Fartun Ali and her second-oldest daughter Suleikha have plenty on their plates.
A mother of five, ages 5 months to 22 years, Fartun works in her community as an interpreter for different Somali dialects. At the same time, Suleikha is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College.
“I was scrolling through the local paper when I noticed the announcement about an 8-week certification program in biotech right here in Burlington,” Fartun said. “I was excited to try something new and when I shared the opportunity in our family group chat, Suleikha decided to join me, and my oldest daughter who is getting her degree in diagnostic medical sonograph at MCPHS, volunteered to watch the baby so I could take part.”
Called PathmakerBio, this free grant-funded training program is designed in partnership with Northeastern University, Bridgewater State University, and ElevateBio for individuals who are looking to receive training and develop some basic skills to enter the biotech arena. As a certified Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) Pathmaker program, it addresses critical skills and talent supply gaps facing the State’s life science industry. It gives individuals, particularly those from historically underrepresented communities, the opportunity to gain critical hands-on training necessary to pursue careers in this exciting field.
Fartun is the first in her family to attend University and she holds a degree from UMass Boston in exercise and health science. But she wanted to add to her educational background to expand potential future career opportunities and further demonstrate the importance of education to her children. Suleikha admitted she never really enjoyed science in high school but was open to the challenge with her mom.
“Up until taking this course, science had always basically been about just reading, memorizing, and then taking exams or quizzes, so I never really connected with it as a result,” she said.
As the start of the course neared, that past disconnect with science caused her a bit reluctance about the program, but after her mom returned from the first class excited, she soon followed.
Asked how it compared to her high school science experience, she said, “it was all hands on, so the information was much easier to understand. It made me realize science was actually something I could not only do but enjoy.”
As mother-daughter, the two share a lot in common but both admit to having different strengths when it comes to the classroom.
“I am more introverted, and my mom is more extroverted,” Suleikha said, “so when she goes to a classroom, she likes to say hi to everyone whereas I prefer to slip in and sit in the back. It was nice to have her there to push off from, and that helped me become more outgoing in the classroom. We kind of supported each other.”
The program concluded in February and while neither mother nor daughter have immediate plans to apply the skills they learned to a new job, they are both imagining a new kind of future.
Suleikha, now focused on finishing up her bachelor’s degree, says her experience in this course has opened her eyes to potential careers in the life sciences she hadn’t considered before. She’s beginning to think of other ways she may continue to add more science, particularly as it relates to the human brain, into her studies in the future.
“I really enjoyed the classes and the labs, especially the site visits to ElevateBio and Pfizer, where you could really imagine yourself applying what you were learning to real jobs,” she added.
Both mother and daughter agreed that in addition to sparking interest in future life science careers, the experience itself was a good reminder that learning is truly lifelong.
“Just because you start down one path of a career, doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue new opportunities and learn new things, you never know where it will take you,” Fartun said.
Additional opportunities like this PathmakerBio program continue to be made available to Massachusetts residents through partnerships at Northeastern, including a new program launching in April, also taking place in Burlington.
Asked if they had any thoughts for those who may be interested in the opportunity, Fartun said:
“It’s not just learning new things that make it interesting but being able to learn with people from all kinds of backgrounds who are there for all kinds of reasons. You realize just how many people have a lot to offer when you bring those different experiences together. I would say go for it.”
