| Homemaker to Lifesaver with Help of Employer–College Partnership
 Video Interview with Der Vang.
 A security badge hangs from Der Vang’s lab coat as she briskly navigates the hallways to one of the Research and Development labs at Possis Medical Inc., a Coon Rapids based biomedical company, which pioneered the leading technology to remove intra-vascular blood clots (thrombus). Der was a stay-at-home mother of one for nearly five years before she pursued outside employment and she found temp work at a local biomedical company that led to a position at Possis in 2001.
Beginning in a “clean room” as an assembler, Der built AngioJet® products and, being a self-defined “hands-on person,” that worked. Gradually, Der became more interested in being part of the team that develops the product before it is moved into production. Simultaneously she realized that she wanted to contribute more, to the company, to herself and to her family.
“After some lay-offs I realized that I had to do something to secure my position as best I could,” Der says, “and, if I did leave the company, an education was something I could take with me.” Through brochures in the Possis lunchroom, word-of-mouth and Possis’ tuition reimbursement program and ongoing  training partnership with Anoka-Ramsey, Der was quickly on her way to career advancement.
“I began right in the core [biomedical] courses.” Der says of her first courses of any kind since high school. “Anoka-Ramsey biomedical instructors work in the industry. This allowed me to ask deeper questions right away and get solid answers that I could apply the next day at work.”
Der opted for the Associate in Science program option at Anoka-Ramsey. She maintained her full-time job at Possis while taking two courses per term. During her five years as a part-time student, Der and her husband, a manager at a fast-food restaurant, also added three more children to their family. In June 2007, she graduated with her Associate in Science degree.
“Der is a spark plug for our great relationship with Anoka-Ramsey. We [Possis] use our education benefit as a way to obtain talent and then maintain and retain a well-trained staff.”
Robert J. Scott
Vice President, Manufacturing Operations, Information Technology, Chief Security Officer, Possis Medical, Inc.
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Now as a technologist, Der is one of a team of trained professionals who research, develop and refine Possis’ signature AngioJet® system. Her job, according to her supervisor Mark Hilse, Possis Manager of Product Development, involves exercising creativity, finding the answers and developing scientific-style reports. “Der is one of our star employees,” Mark says. “She is hard-working and has the ability to learn new things.” 
To date, AngioJet® therapy has been used to save more than 400,000 patients worldwide including Der’s mother-in-law. “It was before I began working in the industry, but it is still amazing to know I am helping to save lives,” says Der. “And not only strangers but people I know.”
If you can imagine yourself working in the medical device industry, contact Anoka-Ramsey Program Director Carole Fuller at 763-433-1136 or Carole.Fuller@anokaramsey.edu for more information.
Links
ARCC Non-credit Medical Device Programs
ARCC Biomedical Technology Credit Programs
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