Congratulations to Julia Martinez, a Citrus College alumna who recently earned her bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona!

As an Owl, Julia excelled in the classroom and lab, earning an associate degree in biotechnology and a certificate in biomanufacturing. She was also part of the first biotechnology program cohort that graduated in 2016.

After graduating from Citrus College, Julia began working at Prolacta Bioscience, a health sciences company that is the world's leading hospital provider of 100% human milk-based products. Since it was founded 25 years ago, the company has helped more than 90,000 premature infants.

"I love that everything I do working at Prolacta Bioscience contributes to indirectly helping a premature baby in need," Julia said.

In her current role as a quality control compliance training associate, Julia writes observation reports, oversees quality control onboarding training and creates additional training opportunities for staff. She said she uses many of the skills that she learned at Citrus College in her professional life.

"Good documentation practices are vital to the biotechnology industry," she said. "Understanding how to properly use and operate a pipette is an important skill to develop because simple things like pipetting can generate accurate results."

Dedicated to growing her knowledge and expertise, Julia earned her bachelor's degree last year in biology with an emphasis in microbiology.

"Earning my degree as a single mother – it meant everything to me," she said. "It opened more doors of opportunity for my children and myself. I persevered through it all. I'm just glad I didn't give up."

For students studying biotechnology at Citrus College, Julia recommends that they tailor their resume to the job posting and discuss how their experience make them the strongest candidates for the position.

"Looking for a job in biotechnology is like looking for any job in the corporate world – you have to market yourself and put yourself out there," she said. "We don't expect anyone to be an expert in everything. However, if you have the drive to learn, you will succeed in what you do."