Dr.Bankson's Story
A few years later, I completed a Doctorate in Biomedical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology. I wrote my dissertation on the behavioral effects of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, “ecstasy”) – in rats of course. Upon finishing my PhD, I did post-doctoral work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and Boston University School of Medicine where I focused more on the neurochemical effects of these drugs. I did a few years in the pharmaceutical industry, and found it not to my liking. Then I took on an adjunct position at Massasoit Community College and later became the STEM program Coordinator. The best part of my job is helping to provide undergraduate research opportunities to our students in the hopes that it has the same effect as it did on me.
Prisca's Story
Prisca moved from Haiti to the United States in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the State University of Haiti, Haiti and a Graduate Diploma in Airport Engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She began attending Massasoit Community College in 2011, where she assumed the roles of peer tutor and lab technician. However, it was Prisca’s undergraduate research experience in a biochemistry lab at Boston University (2013) that strengthened her resolve to pursue a career in the sciences. In 2014, she received her associate’s degree in Sciences from Massasoit Community College, transferred to the University of Massachusetts, Boston to study biology, and was invited to join the Massasoit STEM internship program as a peer mentor. In 2016, Prisca earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and was promoted to the Lead Mentor position at the Massasoit STEM internship program. Within the internship program, she ensures maximum productivity by implementing professionalism and effective leadership among staff interns, advises and guides students in determining their individual scholastic paths, and assists interns in strengthening and improving their mathematical skills.In 2018, she opened her private tutoring business, Inspired Learning Center, and acting as its President of Academic Affairs. In 2019, Prisca joined the ranks of the adjunct faculty and is highly involved in the facilitation of a strong campus community through attendance and engagement in participation in faculty meetings. In 2022, she earned her master’s degree of science in mathematics at Indiana State University.
Adam's Story
I was born and raised here in Southeastern Massachusetts. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2009, I pursued a career working with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Brockton, Massachusetts. A short time later, I decided to go back to school in hopes of becoming a nurse. After completing one year of the University of Massachusetts Boston nursing program, I knew nursing was not for me. Fortunately, before attending nursing school, I worked as a STEM research intern at Massasoit Community College in the program’s pilot semester (2014). This experience, being part of an ongoing ecological study, strengthened my interest in science and inspired me to pursue a career in biology. In 2017, I have once again joined the STEM research program at Massasoit Community College, but this time as a mentor. My main focus within the project is training new students to catch, identify, and curate our local wild bees in an effort to continue our long-term monitoring of these important keystone pollinators. With a strong passion for and commitment to the advancement of science, I ultimately aspire to earn a graduate degree in biology or a related field.
Prof.Orazines Story
Dr. Orazine began teaching at Massasoit as an adjunct professor in 2019 and has worked as an adjunct professor since 2016. She is currently involved with the Massasoit STEM research group as a student mentor. Also an avid gardener she has helped maintain the Massasoit Edible Garden.
Prior choosing to pursue a career in academics, she spent three years as an American Public Health Laboratory Fellow at the Rhode Island Health Laboratories in Providence, there she designed and ran a study on prenatal cigarette smoke exposure in collaboration with a local hospital which utilized a state of the art liquid chromatography system coupled to a triple quad mass spectrometer to analyze nicotine metabolites in fetal cord blood.
After earning a BS in Environmental Biology from Southampton College in New York in 1997, she worked in the pharmaceutical industry for five years as an analytical chemist. There she gained skill in a wide range of laboratory procedures used in testing of products produced under FDA guidelines.
In 2002 she started graduate school in pursuit of a degree in Analytical Chemistry at Northeastern University. There while working in Dr. William Hancock’s research group, she studied glycoproteins found in the plasma of a mouse model of breast cancer. This work resulted in important manuscript regarding the use of animal models in proteomic cancer research. Also while at Northeastern, she established a course to teach principals of chromatography including chromatographic theory and practical operation of HPLC instruments to biotechnology graduate students.
Prof.Oguma's Story
There are many ways in which you may interact with me at Massasoit Community College. Currently, I teach Biological Principles I and II, and have taught Introduction to Environmental Science in the past. I also serve as Biology Department Chair. Finally, I’m a mentor and academic advisor to STEM students.
Out of high school, I immediately failed out of a Chemistry BS Degree Program at James Madison University. I spent the next ten years developing some positive and negative qualities. On the plus side, I developed a strong work ethic and became ‘well-rounded’ doing a range of work from landscaping and autobody to bartender and hibachi chef. On the minus side, I became sick with alcoholism and drug addiction -I am fortunate to have survived. However, once I had hit my bottom, the path forward became very clear and I found some true motivation. I realized that I loved nature, and that nature was threatened.
I want humans to become a sustainable part of the biosphere. I believe this starts with education. When I originally majored in chemistry it was because I was decent at it in high school. Later I realized that I could apply these ‘decent’ skills toward a more fulfilling purpose. I went back to college, attending Western Connecticut State University for biology. Alongside my coursework, I did some undergraduate research around a potential biological control for an invasive aquatic plant species. That experience, along with my bachelor’s degree, helped me join an environmental toxicology lab at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette under a paid PhD fellowship position. My undergraduate education, particularly my chemistry skills, were the base that allowed me to earn my PhD in Environmental and Evolutionary Biology. I studied the effects of toxic metals on the community of organisms living on the bottom of a contaminated lake. After that I was finally qualified to teach college-level biology and did so as an adjunct professor at a few colleges in Connecticut. Eventually, my search for full-time employment led me to Massasoit, and I’m not sure the fit could be any better.
While I hope students are able to avoid pitfalls like the ones I experienced, I also hope that my experiences can help students find their own motivations to succeed and can inspire some students to bounce back. I also hope some of my love for the natural world rubs off too. A college degree is hard work -particularly in the STEM fields. It is supposed to be. But it can be the key to unlocking the meaningful future you envision. My plan to help the planet only works if I can help others succeed in their own science educations.
