Employer Spotlight: Biotest Pharmaceuticals
When we sent out an invitation to local companies for our Employer Appreciation Breakfast, we weren’t expecting a company representative to offer to share how great his experience has been with hiring Florida Tech graduates – but Aaron Rogerson, Center Manager from Biotest Plasma Center right here in Melbourne, enthusiastically agreed. And we were enthusiastic to hear what he had to say!
He shared with us how one current Florida Tech student and two alumni have been major assets to his company. Here is a little bit about each of them:
Stephanie Burtch
Stephanie was originally recruited during the 2014 FIT Fall Career Expo. We knew she was different because she kept returning to our table and asking really meaningful questions! Stephanie is still enrolled at FIT in the Biomedical Engineering program and has been fantastic for the center. She originally started in the Medical Screening area, but quickly expressed interest in working on the Donor Floor as a phlebotomist. She had never picked up a needle prior to working with us, but she was quickly trained, and is currently one of our most proficient phlebotomy techs. Stephanie is vital to our team because she is a “cross-trained” employee, meaning she can work in more than one area of the center. We frequently schedule her for both areas, and she happily fills gaps in coverage. Her attention to detail has caught the eye of our Quality Assurance department, and there are whispers of having her trained as an alternate for our QA Specialist.
Amy graduated from FIT in 2014 with a degree in Molecular Biology. A full-time employee, Amy has been a great asset to our Medical Reception area. She excels at screening incoming donors (taking vital signs, registering new donors, controlling work flow). Amy is also one of our designated Trainers for the area. New hires have to go through Amy before they can be signed off to work independently. Amy also participates regularly in center meetings, training meetings, she volunteers for external donor recruitment activities, etc.
Rocky was recruited at the 2015 FIT Spring Career Expo. He graduated from FIT with a bachelors in Marine Biology and a Masters in Biotechnology. We often joke that Rocky is much smarter than the management team combined! Rocky works in the Medical Reception area, and has been a great addition to the team. Rocky started out as part-time, but has recently accepted a full-time position with us. He takes vitals/screens donors, runs front and back counters to control donor flow, runs the break/lunch schedule for the staff, and many other things. We plan to train Rocky on the Donor Floor in the coming weeks to further add to his skills. Rocky recently received recognition for excellent customer service. He is a fantastic employee, and we’re lucky to have him.
Of course, we would like to point out that both Stephanie and Rocky were recruited from the Career Expos we typically hold each fall and spring semester. What better reason do you need to come than that? You never know what opportunities lie in waiting when you attend a Career Expo!
About Biotest Pharmaceuticals
Established in 2007, Biotest Pharmaceuticals owns and manages 18 Biotest Plasma Centers in 10 states across the United States and operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Boca Raton, Florida. Biotest Pharmaceuticals employs more than 900 people in the US. Biotest Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of Biotest AG, a German-based global provider of plasma protein therapies that employs approximately 1,800 people worldwide.
The source plasma collected at our Plasma Centers is used as raw materials world-wide for the production of life saving biopharmaceutical products. These products are composed primarily of plasma proteins that include clotting factors, gamma globulin, albumin, etc.
Each Biotest Plasma Center is a proud member of the local Chamber of Commerce and our employees participate in various community activities throughout the year.
From the moment you step into a Biotest Plasma Donation Center, our technicians are dedicated to assuring your plasma donation experience is a positive one. You can rest assured knowing that donating plasma is safe.
While every donor gets paid for donating plasma, the real benefits of donating plasma is knowing that you are helping to save lives.
