Success After Pacific

Benjamin Sanchez is one of the many scientists working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis. He is a production specialist at a biotech lab in the San Francisco Bay area working on creating testing kits for the virus.

Benjamin was a first-generation college student and a native of Stockton. 

Q: What can you tell us about your research?
Benjamin: I'm currently a production specialist at Twist Bioscience, a company that provides synthetic DNA and DNA-based products through its silicon-based platform to ‘write’ DNA from scratch. My role is to assist the genes production team by ensuring manufacturing stays on track and working on projects to streamline the process.

The genes team is responsible for manufacturing synthetic DNA for our customers. The research applications for our gene product are vast and can include: drug development, renewable alternatives to limited resources, and infectious disease/ genetic disorder detection.

One important product that Twist Bioscience began offering in March 2020 is our synthetic RNA positive controls for SARS-CoV-2, the disease that causes COVID-19, which companies can use to validate their testing kits without using live virus. My company also offers a product that can help in tracing how the virus is mutating over time and geography, our SARS-CoV-2 Research Panels
 

Q: How do you feel about this opportunity to help meet such an urgent need?

Benjamin: The work I do is very rewarding. In manufacturing, the work is very fast-paced and it gets easy to lose sight of the bigger picture of things when your teams are processing thousands of genes every day. But it’s awesome when you can scroll on LinkedIn or watch a suggested video on YouTube and you can see how your product is making a difference in the world.

Q: How did Pacific prepare you for this?

Benjamin: A common aspect of any successful organization, even a school, is opportunity for growth. During my time, the campus was very diverse and I was able to grow as a person by interacting with people from all walks of life who held a variety of ways of looking at the world. All of the various organizations had strong support of the school and it was cool being able to participate and cultivate a world citizen mentality during my time at Pacific. I think the emphasis on collaboration is unique to Pacific and definitely helped open my perspective up.

I was also blessed to have held several leadership positions in my professional fraternity, Alpha Chi Sigma. Having those positions, I believe, were key in setting my foundations to become an effective leader in my career in biotech.

I was a lead operator at ThermoFisher, a production supervisor at Twist, and most recently, I was able to build a team from the ground up all the way to product launch as a production specialist at Twist. Getting to work with professors and school leaders (as superiors) and work with my peers (as reports and colleagues) gave me the tools to succeed in the biotech industry.
 

Q: Why did you choose Pacific?

Benjamin: I honestly pursued Pacific primarily because I was a native Stocktonian. Growing up in Stockton, you pass the university on the way to the movies downtown or maybe on the way to the mall just a little up Pacific. So, as a kid, it’s kind of the closest real thing that you have to set your eyes on when your dreams are to go to college and graduate as a first-generation college student.

I am the eldest son in my family and was tasked with being the head of the household as I became an adult. I wanted to pursue a higher education but be close enough to home to check up on things. Pacific was very generous with their financial aid package. Without the college’s generosity, I’m sure my low-income family could not have afforded the opportunity for me to attend Pacific.
 

Q: Why did you want to major in chemistry-biology?

Benjamin: I originally pursued my degree in chemistry-biology with dreams of one ending up in the health care field. Life had different plans, and I ended up working in the biotech industry. It’s very satisfying that years later I can look back and, say, serve the world in a different way than I intended when I started college.
 

Q: Was there a professor who was especially helpful or influential?

Benjamin: Looking back, I’m very blessed to have been a student for every professor that I had classes for at Pacific. With 20/20 hindsight, I have a newfound appreciation for them in that they dedicate a large amount of their lives in transferring their life’s passions to new generations of students.

For specific professors, Dr. Land was very memorable. As an 18, 19-year-old kid, it was easy to dislike a teacher that seemed to have a world of expectations for their students. Frankly, I wasn’t the best student, but I can probably say that his passion and pride in his work have reflected in me in my career. I have those same high standards for my direct reports, and I see now that having high standards is only because you have the utmost belief that people can aspire to meet and exceed those standards. Maybe I’m romanticizing it a bit, but I believe that’s a very admirable view of the world.

Dr. Tsai also made a great impression during my time as a student. He was a very unique professor, kind of a professor for the people. Although a lot of the technical biochem has not stuck deep, his demeanor and how he carried himself has impacted me as well. I learned from the way he lectured that you don’t have to act like you’re in command to command a room. I’ve used this approach almost daily in meetings with my teams to establish a sense of camaraderie and collaboration.
 

Q: What memory of Pacific stands out for you?

Benjamin: My favorite memory of Pacific was being a brother of Alpha Chi Sigma. From day to day, going to classes with fellow members. To all of the events, including community service, rushes, chemistry guest lectures, it was for sure the highlight of my time there at Pacific. Just the whole process was unforgettable. The pledging process and hanging out with older alums; being a member and attending meetings; to holding leadership positions and hanging out with the next generation, all it was awesome. Even today, I keep close ties with a few brothers who’ve gone on to do great things themselves.
 

Q: Did you get help alumni or professors in getting your first job out of college?

Benjamin: Huy An “Steve” Cao, an alum of Pacific and Alpha Chi Sigma actually got me started in biotech by suggesting I reach out to Kelly Services. That eventually landed me my first job as a manufacturing technician at ThermoFisher three days later.