Over a decade after attending Thimmig Elementary School, Jasmeet Bajwa was riding on a roller coaster with her sister when she started to think about her 8th grade Physics class.

Specifically, she was thinking about how she had learned the definition of G-Forces at Thimmig during middle school (Thimmig was formerly a k-8 school until 2005). Her teacher Mr. McMillian had explained the several forces felt when riding a roller coaster. These forces are known as G-forces. The G stands for Gravity and the number in front of it represents how many times the force of gravity is felt at a particular point of the ride.

“I was surprised to remember a scientific term that was taught to me so many years ago so clearly. It’s a reflection of the great teachers I had during my time in 27J,” recalls Bajwa.

Learning and growing in the field of science did not stop for Bajwa after graduating high school. She went on to the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.

Today, Bajwa works for Genentech, a biotechnology company based in San Francisco, Calif. that has been a part of Roche Pharmaceuticals since 2010. She lives in the world of data and science. She understands and uses complex programming languages such as python and SQL on a daily basis.

How does Jasmeet use these data analytics, visualizations and interpretations to help create a better world? She uses them to support cancer research, clinical trials for various diseases, and patient diagnosis. Doctors and scientists use the data she analyzes to decide how much medicine to prescribe a patient, whether to have a patient discontinue use of a certain drug or whether to take a patient to the next phase of a clinical trial.

Without Bajwa’s work with this data and technology, answers and diagnosis wouldn’t be provided to patients as fast.

Bajwa loves what she does. “I get to collaborate with intelligent individuals in the industry solving problems with cutting edge technology everyday.”

Immediately after college, she accepted an internship in the biotechnology industry in analytics and was then hired on as a tissue analyst. In 2017, she started working for Genentech as project support coordinator and now works in data management and developmental sciences.

Her passion for data and science stretches beyond her job at Genentech. She recently participated in a bootcamp for data analytics and visualization at the University of California, Berkeley, the same university from which she received a certification in data science in 2021.
She also is a Gene Academy mentor, where she mentors 10 to 12 year old students to work together on homework and hands-on science projects that build their interest and confidence in science.

Bajwa credits Thimmig and 27J Schools for propelling her to where she is today giving particular credit to her teachers and the athletic opportunities she experienced.

“Mr. McMillian, Mrs. Kniss and Mrs.Tessmer were a huge influence on me. They always believed in me and supported me. Looking back, I can now see the big difference that playing basketball also made in my life,” she said. “It not only taught me the importance of staying active and healthy, but also taught me valuable teamwork skills that I use in my career today.”

Bajwa holds a special place in her heart for 27J. Not only did she attend Thimmig Elementary School when it was still a k-8 school; she was also a part of the first graduating class from Prairie View High School in 2009. Prairie View High School was the second comprehensive high school in the district after having had Brighton High School around since 1948, which meant that this was a first time experience for a lot of the staff.

“Being a part of the first class of Prairie View High School was almost like being a guinea pig,” she recalls. “It was a time of firsts and seeing what worked for us students and what didn’t. It was exciting to be a part of this and to be a part of the time capsule that was put at the school and will be opened in the future.”

Although Bajwa lives and works in San Francisco, she stays connected to the 27J community whenever she comes to the area to visit. She loves the close-knit community that 27J Schools provides.

“I believe in 27J Schools because we stay connected.”