When Bhushan Desai immigrated to the U.S. from his native India in 2006, he thought he would become a doctor. Instead, he found a successful career in the biopharmaceutical industry.

"Wake Tech was the foundation for me," said Desai, who heads manufacturing operations in the Triangle for pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company. "It allowed me to build relationships and put me in a position to go to a four-year university."

Desai came to Raleigh because his uncle lived here, and he was in class at Wake Tech within weeks of arriving. The Associate in Science major quickly found his footing, becoming a member of the Student Government Association, landing a work-study job and often playing table tennis with a dean at the college.

"I got to meet people from all different backgrounds – high school students, people looking for a second career, working adults," he said. "I still have a lot of friends I met at Wake Tech."

Desai says he wanted to go to medical school, but he realized the additional years of study and accompanying expense would be too much. Wake Tech advisers, he says, helped position him for a variety of career paths by ensuring he had a strong background in science.

"It was instrumental for me to get a perspective on why learning matters and put me in a position to explore opportunities and carve out my own pathway," he said.

Davis Smith, dean of Academic Advising, says advisors, who now work as part of 14 Care Teams at the college, provide wraparound support to students from the time they apply to Wake Tech until they graduate.

"We utilize the expertise of our advisors, the warmth of our success coaches and the wisdom of our career coaches to help students develop and travel along their college pathway," Smith said.

Through the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program, or C-STEP, UNC-Chapel Hill's guaranteed admission program for North Carolina community college graduates, Desai was able to earn a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry following his associate degree from Wake Tech. That's when he found his new career path in biotechnology.

He worked for Baxter International for seven years, handing production and quality assurance at a manufacturing plant in western North Carolina, before returning to the Triangle to work for Guerbet, which makes products for medical imaging, for four years.

In 2021, Desai joined Lilly as senior operations director in the Triangle. His work got noticed at corporate headquarters, first earning him a promotion locally and, by early 2026, a transfer to Germany to oversee the company's expanding manufacturing operations there.

"I found the right mix of science, business and working with people," he said of his biotech work. "I was fortunate to find my niche in an industry that helps make people's lives better."

Desai says he's proud of Wake Tech's role in partnering with the biotech industry, noting that he has served on a college advisory committee that helps align academic programs with industry needs.

"It's leading the way for community colleges," he said. "I don't think people appreciate how a community college like Wake Tech can set you up for a career."