Key Profile Information:

– Background: Supervisor for a major telecoms company in Cape Verde

– Placement: Grant Specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

– Fellow Statement: “The fellowship was a huge opportunity, and I’m very grateful. It showed me this new career in Research Administration that I will follow moving forward.”

Click HERE to learn more about the Fellowship

Miguel Barbosa had reached a plateau in his career when he decided to move to America. A B2B supervisor for a major telecoms company in Cape Verde, Miguel felt that his professional development had stalled. He wanted to find a position that would allow him to continue learning and growing in his role.

However, once in the US, Miguel faced many challenges securing a job that matched his professional background. “When I came to America, I had to take what was available,” he explains. Then in 2022, Miguel applied for the Boston Immigrant Professional Fellowship, an opportunity that has since changed his entire career trajectory. “The fellowship was a huge opportunity, and I’m very grateful,” he explains. “It showed me this new career in Research Administration that I will follow moving forward.”

Miguel was placed at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and served in the Research and Academic Affairs Department where he assisted with the pre-award process for research grants. When asked if there was a particular highlight from the fellowship, he explains that his experience was “flawless”: “This experience has been so different from what I’ve been doing that I would highlight everything. The people were very experienced professionals, but even though they were so experienced, they were also so helpful and spent time teaching me.”

The fellowship experience has also helped Miguel build a professional network in the healthcare field. He feels confident that with these connections and his experience working in an American medical setting will help him jump-start his career in Research Administration.

Miguel concludes, ”This program is something that can help a lot of people. Not only immigrants, but the companies who hire them. They [immigrant professionals] bring new perspectives to these businesses and industries…They have a lot of talent that deserves to be recognized.”