Could you tell us a little bit about your early educational background?

Bachelor of Science Chemistry with emphasis in Biochemistry class of 2012.

What first got you interested in the healthcare field as a career choice? There are a lot of career options in the field – nursing, physician assistant, etc., what made you decide that pharmacy was the right practice area/career choice for you?

I was prescribed the wrong medications and it was during this time my interest in pharmacy developed. I was very interested in knowing the pathways of different drugs and their effects on the human body. After this unfortunate mishap and almost losing an organ, my interest in the career of pharmacy became personal and very important to me.

What type of obstacles have you had to overcome on the road to getting your education and in particular in pursuing your PharmD degree? Was there any one thing that led you to decide, “this is definitely the right move for me”?

There were a few defining obstacles in my life, one was migrating and restarting my whole life in U.S.A. I was later misdiagnosed and hospitalized for a month. Facing health complication took a toll on my education and my personal life. Struggling with pain and constant hospital visits, the real challenge was not giving up on education and life. Though the health complications affected my education in a negative way I kept going. This was one of the biggest challenges of my life; not to give up on my dream. It took me longer and more attempts than most people but I got through it. In pharmacy school my goal is to continuously seek more challenging experiences and learn from these experiences to be a better health care provider and avoid mistakes that cause misdiagnose.

Once you decided to pursue a PharmD degree, how did you know that KGI SPHS was the right school for you?

I met the admissions counselors at a career fair, at that time I learned about the KGI SPHS and all it has to offer. I learned about the flipped class approach and the team-based learning. After attending the visitation day and meeting current students I knew KGI was right for me.

What are you most looking forward to about beginning your PharmD studies at KGI?

I am looking forward to meeting new people in my P1 year, building long lasting friendships and experiencing the new and innovative approach learning in teams.

What setting do you see yourself working in eventually -in industry, community pharmacy, clinical, government agency, etc.? Why does that area of practice appeal to you?

I do not have one particular area I am interested in. I would like to first try out different settings of pharmacy and utilizing the opportunities KGI offers before making a final decision.