Julia Rossman finds it easy to relate to the students in her biotechnology class at MiraCosta College. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that she was one of them.

 

“It’s pretty fun to teach a class that I took four years ago,” she said. 

 

Rossman, a quality control engineer at SpiTrex Orthopedics, was in the fourth cohort of MiraCosta’s biomanufacturing bachelor’s degree program and now has four years of experience in the industry.

 

While she never thought she would be a teacher, she discovered a knack for it as a tutor when studying at the college.

 

“I found I did like doing it,” she said. “I thought it was much more challenging to teach it than learn it.”

 

She began teaching just last semester and has received positive evaluations from students who say they would recommend her class, which she called an early highlight in her new career.

 

She also finds her job rewarding when she sees her students understanding and applying something they are learning. The support she receives from her lab techs and fellow instructors who have taught the class before is also rewarding, adding that she recommends new instructors ask their colleagues lots of questions..

 

Paying it forward, Rossman said she is taking notes on how to teach the class and making suggestions for other instructors who will be part of the program in the future.

 

Rossman grew up in Carlsbad, home-schooled with parents who were both engineers. After graduating from high school at 14, she said there were few college choices for someone her age, and she decided to go to nearby MiraCosta College.

 

The choice was made easier because her older sister was in the second cohort of the new biomanufacturing bachelor’s program.

Rossman worked full-time while earning her degree, and the experience has made her sensitive to the diverse needs of her students. Keeping in mind the mission and values of the college, she said she works to help her students succeed and acknowledges that sometimes they may have family or work obligations that could affect their work in her lab class.

 

Rossman said working full time in a related industry helps keep her lessons current, and her students also help because most are already working in the field.

 

“If they talk about their jobs, I learn other things about what biomanufacturing could be,” she said.

 

Rossman sees a bright future for her students as they continue their careers. When applying for jobs, she noticed how respected the MiraCosta program is in the industry. 

“Honestly, it seems that wherever I worked, they knew about the biomanufacturing program,” she said. “It seems a lot of people are hiring from the program.”