Hello everyone! My name is Alexa Rossi and I am a Penn State Biomedical Engineering Graduate of the class of 2017. Throughout my time at Penn State, I minored in German and was a research assistant in Dr.Carrie Jackson’s Linguistics Laboratory.  I am passionate about encouraging young girls to peruse fields in STEM and volunteered through our Science-U program that directly engages with girls to get excited about science.

While completing my engineering degree, I knew that long term I wanted to be in the healthcare industry but not in a technical engineering role. This lead me to explore multiple companies and functions through two internships and a co-op. This exploration of real-life work experience in various industries and positions provided me groundwork to understand 1. What I liked in a company and 2. A basic understanding of corporate America.  When looking at job postings and companies it was challenging for me to decipher what the role meant and if there would be enough opportunity for professional development. I realized that I could not confidently choose one job position for my first employment and decided to explore leadership development programs. This exploration process lead me to my full-time placement at Johnson & Johnson in the GOLD* program.

The GOLD program is a rotational program that is 2.5 years long (three rotations in total) and is a fantastic balance of engineering, operations, and business. We are given the opportunity to explore the different companies of Johnson & Johnson: Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, and Consumer and most importantly are given support for accelerated professional development.  I am currently working within Janssen Supply Chain as a Regional Account Management Analyst which has been a great role to understand how I can leverage my BME degree in the business world. My second rotation is in Salt Lake City, Utah where I am going to be working in a medical device manufacturing plant as a manufacturing supervisor. I am so excited to get the exposure of three roles in the same time span as a typical “first job” and to begin to figure out the direction of my career. One of my most exciting opportunities that I have been given is to continue to my work to support women and girls in STEM through helping strategically lead our WiSTEM2D Initiative. Every day I wake up eager for the day ahead of me because not only is my job rewarding but I also get to feel the impact that I have directly to our patients.  I am thankful for the problem solving and analytical skills my BME degree taught me and am looking forward for my career journey ahead.

*GOLD= Global Operations Leadership Development

**WiSTEM2D: Women in Science Technology Engineering Mathematics Manufacturing and Design