Designing experiments, planning cell culture workflows, and spending hours in a lab is how Cell Therapy Associate Spencer Wallack describes his day.
Recently relocating from New York to New Hampshire to take on a science role at a pilot manufacturing site, this wasn’t his biggest life change from the past year — it was welcoming a new niece into his family that really inspired a mindset change.
“When my brother first welcomed his daughter into the world, I really wanted the opportunity to relate to him about it,” he explains. “It made me think about finding ways I could get more experience working and communicating with kids, so I could have a good relationship with her.”
At Novo Nordisk’s New Hampshire site, employees are provided eight
hours of company-sponsored time per year to volunteer in their local
communities. Rooted in the
Novo
Nordisk Way that guides employee values and behaviors,
this program was established to encourage well-being through
supporting local initiatives
This opportunity is what allowed Spencer to find Everybody Wins! Vermont — a literacy-based mentoring program where adult volunteers spend one hour every week in a local elementary school reading to a student.
“I’ve really enjoyed this program a lot, and have always loved reading in general,” shares Wallack. “My mentee CJ is in fourth grade, and seeing the world from his eyes is such a joy.”
When asked why, Wallack shares he was surprised by a fourth grader’s sophistication.
“They are just a lot more articulate and self-aware than I was expecting,” he shares. “I’ve learned so much from him, and I’m just really thankful my company supported me in devoting one of my lunch breaks every week to participating in this program.”
With his volunteering goal to learn to better connect with younger generations, Wallack offered to share how it impacted his relationship with his new year-and-a-half-old niece.
“I recently went on vacation with my brother and his family from California, so I had the chance to really spend time with her,” he shares. “By the end of the week, I’d like to believe I’d earned the title of world’s best uncle.”
