Oregon Tech students from all programs were invited to attend a presentation on Wednesday, October 26th from FlowJo, LLC, a data analysis software company in Ashland, Oregon that is enabling researchers unprecedented insight into the single cell basis of health and disease. The company employs Oregon Tech alumni and actively recruits current Oregon Tech students from a variety of majors.

Internships are an integral part of the Oregon Tech experience, increasing a student’s ability to secure a position post-graduation. Interns can also be a valuable instrument to organizations by bringing fresh ideas, energy, and perspectives.

Dr. Mike Stadnisky, CEO of FlowJo, LLC agrees with the benefits of an internship model of recruitment, and presented to more than fifty Oregon Tech students on what it means to be an intern with his company. “Our partnership with Oregon Tech has blossomed as we have grown, and it was great having an opportunity to share our story, and the driving purpose behind our work – cures and prevention of life-threatening diseases,” said Dr. Stadnisky. The company is developing new software applications for analysis and visualization of life science datasets in partnership with cell biologists, immunologists, and life science companies. FlowJo, LLC uses a model that allows interns to work within teams and on individual projects to build real tools for life scientists - and get paid for doing so! Their goals are to provide interns with an experience they can anticipate in their future employment and work on projects that matter.

The internship program at FlowJo, LLC is led by Justin Howard, an Oregon Tech student who began as an intern with the company and understands the importance of the experience in relation to future endeavors. Justin, a Software Engineering Technology student expected to graduate in June, joined FlowJo, LLC the summer of 2015 and this summer led a team of interns, four out of five who are Oregon Tech students. The interns worked on actual engineering projects that the culminated in a project that FlowJo, LLC has provided to customers all over the world.

Not only does the company have a strong Oregon Tech presence within it, but they also maintain a relationship with Oregon Tech faculty to help facilitate a steady flow of communication. Todd Breedlove, department chair and professor of Computer System Engineering Technology (CSET) at Oregon Tech, helps coordinate getting the right students into industry experience. “Oregon Tech and CSET are good for connecting students with the industry and FlowJo, LLC wants more of our students,” said Professor Breedlove.

FlowJo, LLC not only boasts 2015 Software Engineering Technology, Applied Mathematics, and Computer Engineering major, Clayton Simons, who currently works on the company’s flagship project, but also 2011 Biology major, Caitlin Farquhar, who works in the Science and Design department as the Marketing Community Manager. The company values Oregon Tech students in science, marketing/communication, and software engineering technology to help balance the diversity of their business. Internship students are scouted, mentored, and led towards future success.

Oregon Tech’s Career Services worked in partnership with FlowJo, LLC and Professor Breedlove to organize this presentation to students. Career Services helps find on-campus and part-time jobs, internships, and full-time jobs for current students and graduates. The industry relationships maintained by Career Services ensure profession-ready students and graduates ready to become part of Oregon Tech’s 90% graduate success rate of finding a job or attending graduate school within six months of graduation.

Corporate recruiters such as FlowJo, LLC and many others will be at Oregon Tech’s Career Fair on Wednesday, November 2nd from 1 pm- 4 pm. The event is open to all students and has more than thirty employers such as Asante, Garmin AT, Providence Health and Sciences, and Department of Transportation. For more information about Oregon Tech’s internship opportunities, visit www.oit.edu/career-services.

About Oregon Tech

Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology is the premier public polytechnic university the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech provides degree programs in engineering, technology health technologies, management, communication, and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public, and international communities through hands-on, applied learning. Oregon Tech has a full-service, residential campus in Klamath Falls, an urban, industry-focused campus in Wilsonville, an Online campus, as well as other degree delivery sites. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology. 

About FlowJo, LLC

FlowJo, LLC is a privately-owned life sciences software company in Ashland, Oregon. Based on technology developed at Stanford, the company was founded in 1997 and provides the leading platform for single cell flow and mass cytometry analysis. Their software innovations enable collaboration, discovery, high-throughput analysis, and data leadership in flow and mass cytometry. For more information, see www.flowjo.com.