From dressing up as Albert Einstein for Halloween when I was eight, to taking AP chemistry classes in high school, I’ve always known I wanted to work in science. My high school chemistry teacher initially introduced me to pharmacy as a possible career choice thinking it suited my outgoing personality and desire to help people. She was one of the first women in science I looked up to. As a former nuclear chemist turned high school teacher, her confidence and intellect inspired me every day. She drove me to hone my talent in science and pushed me harder academically than I ever had been before. From the minute she presented the idea of pharmacy, I knew it was the career for me. In the beginning, I saw it as an opportunity to work in a field that held all my interests in one. My fascination with chemistry, interaction with people, and most importantly, service. As I researched more and spoke to countless pharmacists in my community, my interest grew stronger. An overwhelming number of them couldn’t stress enough that there is so much more to pharmacy than what meets the eye. With that, I began to realize what a diverse field pharmacy truly is.
Recalling my initial draw to pharmacy, I’ve realized my personal interests have prepared me well for this career path. For the past eight years, the sport of cheerleading has been a large part of my life and has shaped me into the person I am today. I initially became interested in it by the stunts, the extreme athleticism, and a great deal of trust required amongst the team. Looking back, cheerleading has been more than a sport, more than just friendships. Being a part of a cheer team has given me a life-long family that had to work together across social, racial, and economic boundaries to positively impact our community. The beautiful synergy I see is that being a cheerleader is more than shaking pom-poms: we work to make the fan experience the best it can be. In the same way, being a pharmacist is not about just counting pills like some might think, a pharmacist works hand-in-hand with Doctors for the well-being of others.
My favorite thing about pharmacy is its unique perspective into the many components of healthcare serving as a bridge between patients and their providers. In retail settings, they evaluate drug interactions on patient profiles in order to avoid harm. In hospitals, pharmacists can act as an extra precaution in evaluating lab results and serve as a strong right arm to clinicians when assessing patient treatment. Pharmacy is critical to the effectiveness of holistic healthcare and it lets me see just how important access to proper medication is. My father was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, living a very different life than the one he has been able to give me. There, the recent governmental and economic collapse has caused a mass shortage of prescription pharmaceuticals throughout the country and the lack of basic antibiotics and vaccines has led to the resurgence of preventable illnesses such as measles and diphtheria. This has given me a deep appreciation for what I’ve learned about pharmacy and challenges me to connect that knowledge to the events that are occurring in my life.
Although I know the Doctor of Pharmacy program will challenge me academically, professionally, and personally I am also confident in my potential to excel. My passion for helping others has made me originally choose and continue to pursue pharmacy every day. I want to be a part of a community that values hard work and putting in more effort than necessary to ensure patients feel respected and valued. Between minimization of its influence and misconceptions, this profession is not about the prestige, it is about the impact that one can make in someone’s life through their medicine. I intend to be more than just a pharmacist; I will be an advocate for the pharmacy profession and the opportunities we have to do more than dispense medication.
