Newswise — During the University of North Carolina Wilmington's spring commencement in May, 32- year- old senior David Helms will walk away with a degree in one hand and a job in biopharmaceuticals in the other. As many Americans struggle with the tough decisions uncertain economic times bring, this UNC Wilmington student's success is proof that taking a risk and working hard can bring huge rewards.
After noticing some unfavorable economic changes beginning to surface and realizing he was less than satisfied with his career in real estate, Helms chose to return to UNCW and pursue a career in the new clinical research program. "I decided I needed to establish a career, not just a job. I learned from experience that to have a career you need to be a specialist, not a jack of all trades and master at none," he said.
His hard work paid off earlier than expected when he was hired as a clinical trials assistant during his junior year by Quintiles Transnational, Inc., which had recently opened offices in Wilmington. "I was able to start a great career with the largest contract research organization in the world. I hope eventually to become a clinical research associate, monitoring drug trials and sites around the world," said Helms.
Helms first returned to the UNCW School of Nursing to inquire about completing a degree in a healthcare related field and found out about the clinical research program. "I've always been intrigued with medicine and wanted the opportunity to help people in time of illness. Clinical research does just that and it is a specialized degree giving me skills that are in demand and attractive to pharmaceutical companies and the overall industry," he stated.
According to assistant professor Kris Walters, director of UNCW's clinical research program, "Wilmington has experienced impressive growth in the biopharmaceutical clinical research industry with the addition of three contract research organizations and several new start-up ventures, including the most recent opening of the Azalea Research Center, a trial management organization."
The clinical research program at UNCW is a non-nursing program that can be completed entirely online. Since the first class graduated in 2006, the program has seen a high success rate in the number of graduates placed in jobs.
Helms added, "Balancing family life with my rigorous school schedule was hard. My wife and son are the most important people in my life but I had to complete school work a lot and that left us apart for awhile. But now, I've completed the schooling for them so we could have a better life in the future." Helms lives in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. with his wife, Demaris, and 4-year old son, Noah, and serves as a local minister.
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