Employee Spotlight: Get to Know Torigen Technician, Kelly Lappen

Have you wondered what the day-to-day looks like in Torigen’s production facility? We recently had a chance to interview Kelly, one of our technicians who processes the vaccines! She gives us some insight into what a typical day looks like as a technician at Torigen.

Q: Tell us about your background and what brought you to Torigen?

A: I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Central Connecticut State University in 2021 and originally was hired at Torigen as an Assistant Operations Manager. I handled shipping sales materials for conferences and for the sales reps, sent out our Tumor Collection Kits to veterinary hospitals, as well as shipping of all the vaccines. 

After a year, I switched over to the Production team as a lab technician. I now process the vaccines and carried on my previous role of shipping the vaccines as well, and I have been a technician for almost a year now.

Q: What does a normal day in the production facility look like?

Every day here is different depending on how many samples get through the door, but I can expect to process anywhere between 3-5 vaccines a day. From set-up to finish it usually takes roughly 1-2 hours per vaccine, which takes up a majority of my work day. Monday is usually our biggest vaccine shipping day and we usually ship anywhere between 15 to 30 vaccines depending on how busy we were that week, so my production load is usually lighter on Mondays. 

Q: What's been the most surprising animal that you've processed samples for?

A: The most surprising animal that I have processed for would definitely be a bear! 

Q: What's your favorite part about working at Torigen?

A: My favorite part of working at Torigen would probably be getting to work with all of my co-workers! They are like family to me and it's amazing working with people who truly love what they do and are passionate about helping animals as much as I am.