Active military service members (and military spouses) often have difficulties transitioning to civilian career roles. Terra Trujillo is a proud active service member of the United States Air Force, currently serving the North Carolina Air National Guard with previous deployment assignments to Ali-Al Salem, Kuwait, Ahmad al-Jaber, Kuwait, and AlUdeid, Qatar. Her dedicated military service spanned across eight years serving in the capacity of Emergency Management. Terra relocated to North Carolina with her husband who is on active duty in the U.S. Army stationed at Ft. Bragg. When they moved there, Terra was searching for prospects to leverage her earned military skills toward positions in new industries and careers.
Terra shared that it can be difficult for service members to transition to civilian career roles because many industries do not understand how to interpret their incoming skills. Terra participated in the Military Service Members in Biopharma Manufacturing (MSMBM) BioWork training cohort to learn new skills and have the option to transition into biopharmaceutical manufacturing, a growing sector supporting millions of American jobs.
This particular program was made possible by NIIMBL – a Manufacturing USA Institute focused on biopharmaceutical manufacturing innovation. MSMBM offers skills training to transitioning veterans to create multiple opportunities for growth and diverse career pathways. Once Terra learned about the program she said “I knew it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up!” Terra successfully completed the BioWork program facilitated by NIIMBL’s program training partner, Central Carolina Community College.
Lisa Smelser, the lead instructor for the program recognized that “explicitly offering BioWork for our military community provides a unique opportunity to illuminate transferable skills from military experiences, which are uniquely positioned to connect to the biopharma industry."
Terra’s hard work and training paid off when she landed a contractor position at Pfizer in Sanford, NC. She has moved into the Engineering Systems Administrator role and updates and maintains the extensive records across training requirements and its platform. Terra appreciates the MSMBM program and the experiences it provided to support her transition to civilian careers.
“I’m looking forward to the many opportunities this experience has provided and want to help share more about this program with my fellow service members!”