Interview with Laura Martin
Tell us about yourself and why you chose to study Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Guelph?
My name is Laura Martin and I graduated from the University of Guelph in 2020. I was born and raised in Guelph and always had a passion for science and math growing up. Chemistry was my favourite of the sciences in high school and I joined the Chemistry program at U of G, specifically because I was interested in the co-op program. A year or two into my degree I learned about the Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry program and switched into that which had many of the same courses, but focused more on the biological side of chemistry than the physical side.
After graduating, I worked at one of my previous co-ops for a year and then went back to school at Seneca College to study Cosmetic Science. From this program, I found my current role at Three Ships, where I've been working for over three years now!
What did you like most about your program? Is there anything in particular about the courses or professors that stands out to you?
I loved that I was in a small program and that with co-op I got to take classes in the summer with an even smaller group of the cohort. I made lifelong friends (and met my fiancee!) in my program and it was very easy to get to know your professors and TAs with such a small group. Another standout memory for me was the opportunity to go to Seneca College for a semester to focus on hands-on lab courses for pharmaceutical manufacturing. This was such a unique experience and helped me a lot when I ended up going back to Seneca post-grad.
Did you do co-op? If yes, tell us a bit about your co-op job and your experience.
Yes! My most prominent co-op was my 8-month co-op at Mantech Inc in Guelph. Mantech is a family-run business that designs, engineers, and sells analyzers for water, food, and soil. In my role as a Quality Control & Research Chemist I was responsible for the quality control testing of several products before they were shipped to customers, manufacturing and assembling analyzers, and preparing stock solutions for analysis. After completing my co-op and graduating from my program, I was immensely grateful to rejoin the team as an Environmental Scientist. Similarly to my original role, I worked on the QC team but in my new role I focused on testing and assembling customer systems prior to shipment.
Where are you currently working and what is your role?
Currently, I work at Three Ships as the Senior Research & Development Associate. Three Ships is a brand that makes 100% naturally derived, vegan skincare products. I started at Three Ships as an intern while completing a co-op for my postgraduate program at Seneca College. In my current role, I manage the R&D process of new products from start to finish. This includes things like testing new products, communicating with our co-manufacturers, coordinating all product testing, and many other day-to-day tasks.
How did your degree and time at the University of Guelph help get you to where you are today? How do the skills and education you gained help with your current work?
So many aspects of my degree and the University of Guelph have helped me get to where I am today. Firstly, my B.Sc. was hugely impactful towards my success in my Cosmetic Science program which has directly led me to my current role. Also, having previously spent a semester at Seneca through the U of G, I was comfortable at the new campus immediately and was able to recognize some of my old professors on campus! In my B.Sc. I was able to learn how to work very efficiently independently and as a team member, and it solidified a deep understanding of how the products I make today interact with each other and with the skin.
What advice would you give someone considering the Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry program or applying to the University of Guelph?
My advice to someone applying to U of G or considering Biological and Pharmaceutical Chemistry would be to definitely apply to the co-op stream! You can always drop it later if you don't want to do it, but joining the co-op program after starting your degree is much more difficult than getting it from the start, and doing the co-op helps so much with relevant job experience. You could be lucky and love your job and continue on with that company, but at the very least, you will learn what fields you're less interested in (which is sometimes just as valuable!) and you will come out of it with great connections and a ton of transferable skills.
Bonus Questions
Where was your favourite place to eat on campus and what was your go-to food order?
I stayed in Glengarry residence so my go to spot for a late-night snack was the Eastside's residence and other than that I mostly made all my meals!
In your opinion where is the best place to study on campus?
For me, it was definitely the library, on one of the quiet floors. I was so easily distracted by people watching or staring out the windows, so I needed to be tucked away in a cubicle to really focus!
