Simone Peironnet

California native Simone Peironnet ’22, ’23 had three worries going into her final semester at UMass Lowell: finding a job, moving back to the West Coast and taking her finals.

Those worries quickly diminished after she secured a job with Boeing as a health physicist two months before graduation. As part of Peironnet’s job signing, the aerospace giant offered to pay for her move to Seattle, which she gladly accepted.

“It was such a relief,” says Peironnet, who could focus solely on finishing her master’s degree in radiological sciences and protection through UMass Lowell’s Bachelor’s-to-Master’s Program. She previously earned a bachelor’s degree in physics with a radiological health physics option.

Growing up in Santa Cruz, California, Peironnet was unfamiliar with UMass Lowell until she attended a college fair while in high school. Intrigued by what the university had to offer, she flew across the country to visit the campus and was impressed by what she saw.

“I got to see firsthand that there is a nuclear reactor and a particle accelerator on campus,” says Peironnet, who wanted to major in physics after finding interest in the subject during a high school Advanced Placement course.

Peironnet also found UMass Lowell to be affordable.

“The tuition was a lot better than a lot of private institutions, even with me being an out-of-state student,” says Peironnet, who freelanced as a graphic designer to help pay for college.

At UML, Peironnet found her calling within the physics department after taking Introduction to Radiological Sciences with Steven Snay, director of radiation safety.

“It was the best introduction course I had ever taken,” she says. “I learned about all the random stuff that radiation is involved in, like bananas and smoke detectors. It was so cool.”

Peironnet decided to focus her studies on radiological health physics and ultimately secured a spot in UML’s Radiation Safety Office as a health physics radiation specialist. There, she helped to ensure the safety of UMass Lowell’s reactor and other labs by surveying radiation levels, calibrating radiation detectors, securing radioactive sources and managing radioactive waste, all while following state and federal regulations.

She also learned how to properly ship hazardous materials to companies that conduct experiments within UMass Lowell’s reactor, one of which happens to be Boeing.

“I brought up in my interview with Boeing that some of the materials they received were shipped by me,” she says. “My employer told me that was a big boost on my résumé because I’m licensed and certified to do that type of shipping. It was training I got from Steven Snay that I was able to take with me to my current job.”

Peironnet adds that she is grateful for all the hands-on skills she learned while studying radiological sciences. She applies many of those skills to her job at Boeing, where, just as with UMass Lowell’s Radiation Safety Office, her main role is keeping people safe.

“Studying radiological sciences at UMass Lowell was the best training and education combination I ever could have gotten,” she says. “The department set me up for a lot of success.”