Working at West has allowed me to achieve so many personal goals

Today,?I am?a Senior Quality Engineer in the Global Quality and Metrology Group and based in?Kiefernweg, Germany.?For those that?don’t?know, metrology is the study of measurements such as dimensions.??

As?I am?originally from the U.S., I started my?career at West as a Quality intern in 2016.?After graduating from university, I worked?at the Jersey Shore facility and shortly after?that at the Exton office. The initial hands-on?experience at a plant was critical to learning?about West processes at the early stages of?my career.??

While working in Exton, a short-term?opportunity came up to support the?Customer Quality group in Le?Nouvion,?France. As?I am?actually a?dual French-American citizen, this seemed like a great?opportunity to try something new in my?career while exploring a personal life goal?of mine – to live in France. And as the?experience was only for a few months, I?knew that?I would?come home again and?work for West no matter how the?experience went.

When I arrived in Le?Nouvion?at 23, I had a?decent background in French grammar, but?I could barely say more than “bonjour” and?“merci.” My team members at Le?Nouvion?were welcoming, supportive, and incredibly?accommodating with translations, so the?language barrier?did not?compromise our?work. It was by accompanying my?colleagues at lunch that I gained confidence?and learned the most French. But through?that experience, I learned much more than?a language.?

Upon returning to Exton, I moved into the?nearest city, Philadelphia. I loved living in a?big city but had taken on an unbearably?long commute. As that was before mobile?work, and there?weren’t?any West positions?close to a big city in the U.S. or France, I?ended up changing jobs to work for a?different company for a time in Paris. While?I loved living in Paris and enjoyed my job, I?found myself missing something?I had?enjoyed at West – mentorship and?development.??

At the same time,?I had?also been?developing an interest in living in Germany.?So about two years ago, between Covid?lockdowns, I moved from France to?Germany to start working in my current?role at West in?Kiefernweg, about one hour?away from the city of Cologne where I now?live. Despite the lockdowns, it was still?possible to meet up with people one-on-one when I arrived in Germany, and so I?was able to quickly make great friends?through the expat community and open-minded culture in Cologne. Today?I am?settled in Germany and although I miss my?family and friends in the US,?I am?happy?overall in Europe right now.?

What I appreciate about West is that every?project pushes me intellectually and?professionally, and I want to continue that?growth. When I first joined West, I had?many different mentors who taught me all?the skills I have today.?It is?bittersweet to?see that many of them have retired or gone?on to have different careers. But at the?same time, I can see new talented?individuals coming in, who?are keen?to?learn and grow. So,?I am?doing my best to?be a mentor to them and live up to the?positive experiences?I have?had at West,?and one day,?I would?love to manage an?individual or a team.?

I am?always happy to explain to people?where I work and the products we make, as?few people outside of the pharmaceutical?industry will recognize the name West. Yet?everyone understands that what we do is a?total necessity. There simply?cannot?be a?world without the products that West?innovates and manufactures, and?I am?very?proud to contribute to it.?