Starting a career at BMS does more than open doors. It can put someone on the path toward a lifetime of fulfilling and highly meaningful work. As Toni Miller, Director of Early Career Strategy for Talent Management and Early Career Talent Acquisition, puts it, “Our vision is to grow the best early career talent with BMS to deliver medicine to our patients.” She added, “We're looking to seed the organization with diverse high potential talent from pipeline programs aligned to our talent philosophy and people strategy.”
Diversity and Inclusion: Vital Parts of the Equation
“What we are trying to do is bring top diverse talent into each of our functional areas and convert them into full-time roles,” said Kevin Luis Snyder, Associate Director, Early Career Program. “So, we have a multi-prong approach of recruiting from some core universities and also partnering with diversity organizations.”
One of these partnerships is with the University of Puerto Rico. BMS recently awarded ten students from science, technology, education and math (STEM) backgrounds a $5,000 scholarship as well as a summer internship at a BMS facility in the U.S. with some opportunities being virtual.
The Always-Learning Curve at BMS
Yasmarie Torres-Paneto, one of this year’s scholarship recipients, is a mechanical engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico with a background in biotech. Initially interested in robotics, Yasmarie discovered mechanical engineering as a way to challenge her intellectually and broaden her professional goals.
“It’s a big field,” she said. “As an engineer, you can work everywhere and anywhere you can imagine.” While at BMS she was assigned to the statistical programming team helping provide colleagues with vital information used in their work. A new discipline for her, Yasmarie eagerly scaled that learning curve during her internship.
“This was outside of my comfort zone because I was working with coding,” she recalled. “But I really liked it. I learned a lot and it built up my confidence levels.”
How One BMS Intern Made a Personal Discovery
Anibal Ortiz was not sure which area of chemistry he wanted to specialize in. He had been inclined toward a career in academia rather than industry, but knew he wanted to work someplace where he could always be learning while making a difference.
“I studied biochemistry and was interested in the part chemistry plays in biological systems. That's when I started realizing how interesting drug discovery is. Going to a lab every day trying to figure how a drug works. Making sure that it is going to save lives and be helpful toward human beings. That’s what guided me.”
This inspired him to apply for the program. During his summer 2022 internship, when Anibal was conducting research into molecular activity, he also discovered BMS was a place where both his curiosity and ambition could thrive.
“I was a little nervous, but I understood that this was a huge opportunity and if they’re confident I can do it, then maybe I should be, too.”
“I would just love to make a huge impact in the scientific field or in the research field,” he added. “And to have it come from someone like me, from Puerto Rico, and show the true potential that we all have; I would love to do that.” Watch the video below to see a day in the life of Anibal Ortiz, a BMS Intern and Chemistry major at the University of Puerto Rico.
Helping to implement these early career programs has been fulfilling for Toni, and her role in steering others toward a career path has been its own reward. “I’m so very happy to be in the team that I'm in, because it is talent management and a focus on teaching, mentoring and guiding young people, which is why I had originally gone to school.”
Why Starting Your Career Here Is a Smart Move
“Students today are very savvy,” says Toni. “They know a lot about a company before even interviewing. What gets us talking with students is that they want to make a difference. We are a large company and any major can really fit in here, whether you are doing engineering or research and development, or you're here for a corporate function. The culture of the company, the work in which we do, the difference it makes for people, patients and the families that care for them...it's a game changer.”.
See what makes an early career path at BMS such a worthwhile journey. Recruiting for summer internships begins this September, so visit us today to learn more.
