Today is My 90th Birthday- First Job in the United States

Today is My 90th Birthday. It is day of Recollection, Reflection and Gratitude!

So turning 90 brings back pleasant memories of my first job in the US. I am describing it in detail in this posting( a repost).     

I am in the 2nd Row, First from the Left ( #32) in dark brown Jacket, 1969. 

One of our numerous conversations during meal times here at THD was about our first job💚. There were a lot of interesting and challenging first jobs that I have heard. However, mine is also interesting and ground breaking. My employer was The Chemagro Corporation, Agricultural Research Subsidiary of Bayer Corp, Kansas City. Missouri. The company later sponsored me for permanent residency and later my family became US citizens in 1972. 

Here is a repost of my article:   

My First Industrial Job in the US was with Chemagro Corporation, Kansas City, Missouri in 1964. My first job in the Philippines after my Bachelor in Chemistry Degree in 1955 was Instructor in Chemistry, College of Arts and Sciences, UP, Diliman, Q.C. 

Group Photo of the Research Department in 1964. I was #36 in the group photo-second row and second from the Right,

My first industrial job after finishing my Ph.D from the University of Illinois was for Chemagro Corp in Kansas City, Missouri. My title was Chemist in the Methods Development group( Biochemistry) headed by Dr. Charles Anderson ( Chuck). My primary duty was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticides residues in plant and animal tissues. My work for five years( 1964-1969) resulted in several publications on the subject of analytical methods for pesticide residues in a couple of scientific journals. I enjoyed my first job very much because of my fellow employees and my supervisor, Dr. Chuck Anderson.

Chemagro sponsored me for my permanent resident visa from a student visa. Looking at the group photo above, I now realized I was the first Filipino scientist hired by the company. There were 40 employees in the research Department mostly white men in 1964. There were only six women and no black scientist in our department. Our Chief and Head of Research was a woman, Dr. Rosemarie Von Rumker ( middle of photo).   

I was very proud to be the only Asian hired by the company for several years. As a matter of fact my photo with two other white chemists was published in the Kansas City Star as an advertising for the company in 1967. 

Photo Taken in 1967 from the Kansas City Star Sunday Newspaper

Here's the latest information about Chemagro from the Internet: Chemagro is now called Bayer Crop Science, LP.

The Bayer Crop Science site is located on about 236 acres at 8400 Hawthorne Road in North Kansas City, Missouri, approximately 1.5 miles south of the confluence of the Missouri and Blue rivers. The facility occupies about 150 acres of the site and is protected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ East Bottom Flood Levee. The remaining property is undeveloped land lying outside the Levee (river side of the Levee).

Before 1956, the property was farmland. In 1956, the facility opened as an agricultural chemical manufacturing facility, known as Chemagro, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer A.G. in 1967. In 1971, the facility came under control of the Mobay Chemical Corp. as a result of the merger and restructuring of various U.S. businesses affiliated with Bayer A.G. Over the years the facility formulated and produced numerous insecticides, fungicides and herbicides for agricultural use, including guthion (azinphosmethyl), disulfoton (Disyston), fenthion (Baytex), demeton (Systox), coumaphos (Baymix) and Meta-Systox-R. 

Since 1979, the facility has operated two hazardous waste container storage areas in the south-central part of the facility, with a combined capacity of 12,375 gallons; four 27,000-gallon hazardous waste storage tanks and one hazardous waste incinerator. In January 1992, the facility name changed to Miles Inc., and in April 1995 the name changed to Bayer Corp., Agricultural Division. These were not changes in ownership or operating responsibility, but changes in company name only. In 2002, Bayer CropScience LP assumed ownership of the site. 

LASTLY,  I would like to hear from you regarding your first job after your college graduation as well as your last job prior to retirement.  I am sure you still remember it! 

💚We  also talked about our last job prior to retirement. I posted this in my blogs a couple of years ago and was discus also during my last year talk about the Philippines.  My last job before retirement was with the Food and Drug Administration. I was the Chemistry Team Leader in the Division of Anti-Infective Drugs, Center of New Drugs, Silver Spring, MD. As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs. 

I worked for FDA for 12 years prior to my retirement in 2002. My job with the FDA was the most challenging, happiest and rewarding experience in my professional career. 

htt-s://theintellectualmigrants.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-highlights-of-my-professional.html

Finally, here are some photos, I took of the Merrie Olde Christmas Carolers Concert last night at 7PM at the Lobby

Again, thanks a million to all my Friends and Relatives who send me their Birthday Greetings on my natal day, today! I enjoyed the singing phone greetings of Dick Botton as well as of Carol & John Larimore.