This week’s Student & Alumni Spotlight focuses on Beatrix Arevalo, ‘22! Beatrix earned her BS in Chemistry and currently works as a Drug Investigator for the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, specifically for the division of Pharmaceutical Quality Operations. “Ultimately, my duty is to protect public health by conducting audit checks on drug recalls, drug manufacturing inspections for pre-approvals, investigations, et cetera,” she told us. “I found my career through USAJOBS.gov, a website similar to Indeed but for federal jobs.”
One of the most important (and enjoyable) aspects of Beatrix’s work is the capacity for collaboration at the FDA. “What I enjoy most about my career is interacting with my colleagues… learning from them, sharing and hearing other’s experiences with investigations and inspections, especially the overseas ones,” she says. “They tend to be filled with eventful stories.”
She also enjoys many opportunities for traveling in her work. “We inspect drug firms nationwide and internationally, so we get to travel,” she told us.
Like many EWU alumni, Beatrix did not expect to land in this particular career upon graduating with her Chemistry degree. “When I was in college, my plan was to attend graduate school and earn my PhD in Chemistry,” Beatrix says. “I wanted to get a year break to study after I graduated, then head to grad school.”
“During my gap year, I’ve decided to utilize my time and work for a Pharmaceutical company as a Quality Control Chemist – to gain an understanding of what area I wanted to focus on in grad school,” she continued. “During my time in the industry, I came across the FDA and decided that I was going to apply for their Investigator position. I was so thrilled to receive the news that I got the position.”
It’s been several months since Beatrix’s first day at the FDA, and she still absolutely loves it there. “Initially, I just wanted to gain experience in the industry but now I have found what I love to do, I have found my career,” Beatrix said.
If Beatrix could give any career advice to her fellow Eagles, it would be to remember that you don’t need to have everything figured out all the way! “It is absolutely okay if you don’t know what you want to do after college. It’s okay if you’re unsure about grad school. It’s okay to not know for certain what you want to do after you graduate,” she says. “Job hunting and grad school applications can be overwhelming.”
“My only advice is,” she continued, “if you’re unsure about your career plans, don’t just sit at home while you figure out what you want to do. Gain some experience! Find a job or an internship that you are best qualified for and gain some experiences there… it’ll also give you an idea whether you like what you’re doing or not.”
If you are a current EWU student or proud alumnus with a job, internship, or career path you’d like to share with the EWU community, you can send us your submission here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PT8QJZC.
