CBIA Awards Scholarships

To College Students

HARTFORD — The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) recently awarded 25 college life-sciences students training support scholarships at Boehringer Ingelheim in Ridgefield. The scholarships gave college students the opportunity to learn the skills necessary for successful careers in engineering and biotechnology.

“This program underscores the importance of the business community working with our colleges and universities to maintain Connecticut’s world-class workforce,” said Judith Resnick, CBIA director of workforce development and training and the deputy director of the association’s Education Foundation.

The students were chosen based on their academic abilities and interest in pursuing a career involving industrial, mechanical, biomedical, and electrical engineering.

Twenty-three students spent the summer working at Boehringer Ingelheim. Three other students are working through the fall, including one student who also worked through the summer.

Local students receiving scholarships were Jessica Yakush of Newtown, a junior biology major at Villanova University; Sara Davis of Sandy Hook, a junior chemistry major at the College of New Jersey; and Celia Song of Newtown, a sophomore engineering major at Cornell University;

“This program gives students a unique opportunity to work directly with scientists and engineers at Boehringer Ingelheim learning about the demands and skills required in the biotechnology industry,” said Brian Canney, Boehringer Ingelheim academic relations specialist.

Funding for the program was made possible through a US Department of Labor (USDOL) H-1B grant being administered by CBIA. The purpose of the grant is to increase the number of highly skilled US workers in the bioscience and pharmaceutical industries and reduce employers’ dependence on foreign workers.