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Irada Rybak is a Senior Scientist in Technical Services, in the Maple Grove office. Her team’s goal is to make sure the floor is operating. Irada begins her day ensuring that equipment is running smoothly. “If there is an urgent issue, I address that first. It takes priority over everything else.” If all is good, Irada works on the multiple projects assigned to her, which are typically six-month projects. She usually works onsite, but when she is working on documentation, she can do that at home. Irada’s family lives in Eden Prairie. Her son Yanek is 8 and daughter Maya is 6. The family enjoys biking, soccer and playing board games.

Brian Gonzalez Melgar is an Associate Project Engineer in Maple Grove, who had the unique experience of going from Upsher-Smith intern to part-time employee to full-time employee in a very short timeframe. Brian’s journey with us begins with his involvement in the Achieve Minneapolis Step Up Program, which he joined during his freshman year in high school. The program helps Minneapolis youth prepare and train for their professional future by working with Twin Cities employers, allowing them to gain valuable work experience. Originally a program just for high schoolers, Step Up eventually evolved to accommodate college students. That’s how—while pursuing his mechanical engineering degree at Dunwoody College of Technology during his junior year—he was accepted for a metrology internship at Upsher-Smith. (In case you were wondering, metrology is the science of weights and measures, and Brian’s role dealt with equipment calibration and maintenance.) During his internship, Brian impressed enough of his leaders that he was offered a part-time position as a manufacturing technician before Brian had even graduated. So, when his internship ended, Brian was able to continue working part time in his new role in the Plymouth facility. Then, when it got closer to the end of his senior semester, Brian was offered his current role as associate project engineer. His main focus has been the commissioning of utilities—compressed air, nitrogen and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)—for Plant C, our latest building expansion.

Fat’hi Mohamed, who moved to the United States from Kenya, is a Help Desk Analyst in Maple Grove. She currently is working the first half of each day on a special project to upgrade laptops, and the second half dealing with help desk tickets on behalf of her team. Through the hardware refresh project, “I have met so many people from different walks of life in just one company. Every day I am learning new things and having brand new experiences. It’s really fun.” Fat’hi lives in Bloomington. As the eldest of seven, “I am the first to experience a lot of things, and then pass them down. It requires me to be very involved in my family’s affairs.”