Alumna Brooks Burnside ’10 Credits Valuable Internship to Securing her Position with Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation
I began my Hammond experience in the 5th grade, after my family moved from the Greenville area back to Columbia. My dad, Bob, is a Hammond alum, so it was an easy choice for my parents to enroll me at Hammond when we moved back.
Many of my favorite Hammond memories come from my experiences on various sports teams. I played tennis, softball, and basketball for the majority of my time at Hammond, and those memories will stay with me forever. Regardless if we won or lost, it was always a good time.
Of course, my favorite unique memory with Hammond was our Belize trip. It is extremely hard to top a trip full of adventure like that one. My biggest influence at Hammond by far was my history teacher, Mr. Robert Fowler. He truly embodied the ideal teacher that not only taught you, but had a relationship with you and pushed you to reach your potential. Mr. Fowler became family to me over the two years I had him, and we’ve stayed close over the years. There was not a day or moment that he was going to let me slack off; if I turned in an assignment that he knew wasn’t the best I could do, he would let me know. He instilled the value in me to always do MY best, regardless of what everyone elsearound me was doing. He taught me how to research, make connections, and critically think to come to conclusions; I use these skills every day.
I believe Hammond provided me with all of the tools to succeed in college. From the first day to the last of being a Hammond student, there was no question that academics was the focus and that nothing but hard work would be accepted. I was naturally an engaged student, but having the teachers and resources at Hammond led me to succeed in college. I attended Clemson University (Go Tigers!) where I majored in communication studies with an emphasis in marketing and advertising, and minored in psychology.
I am currently the Training and Development Manager at Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation in West Columbia, a drug manufacturing facility, specializing in respiratory medications, which requires the highest level of sterility. My department coordinates, oversees, and tracks all training activities throughout the facility to ensure all employees are qualified to do their job duties effectively. I was able to pursue a career at Nephron after making a positive experience as an intern in the summer of my sophomore year at Clemson. At the time, Nephron was head quartered in Orlando, Florida, so I lived there for the summer and worked on event planning as well as marketing strategies for a new product launch. My internship was successful in making a good impression and connections within the company, so when I graduated from Clemson in 2014, I was able to take on a full time position at Nephron’s Orlando facility, cross-training in every department possible. After about a year of training on the ins and outs of the company, I found my home in the Training and Development department, and moved back to Columbia to pursue this endeavor. I have since grown within the department to my current position.
In addition to my corporate career, I also own a calligraphy and art business, b3 paper co., which is my creative outlet. This lets me pursue my creative side, where I create original greeting cards, quote prints, watercolor pieces, as well as do invitation design and envelope calligraphy for weddings and other events. It is a dream come true to have this little side endeavor in conjunction with my career. You can find me on Instagram @b3paperco.
Hammond connects rising seniors with internshiph opportunities in a variety of career fields. To learn more or to offer your workplace as an internship site, please contact Emily Bedenbaugh at ebedenbaugh@hammondschool.org.
Hammond connects rising seniors with internshiph opportunities in a variety of career fields. To learn more or to offer your workplace as an internship site, please contact Emily Bedenbaugh at ebedenbaugh@hammondschool.org.
