Personal Statement

From a very young age, I developed a great interest in chemistry and was fascinated by its connection to every aspect of our daily life. This curiosity started during my early middle school days while sitting in a summer teacher quality chemistry class taught by my mother. Although I did not have the background and capability to understand the content at the time, the demonstrations, videos and activities deepened my interest in chemistry. During my junior year in high school, when I first took a chemistry course, my admiration for chemistry started to progress. My interest in pharmacy developed as a result of my enthusiasm for chemistry, biology and mathematics. I have been fascinated by the chemistry of different medicines and how they work

This experience allowed me to get an insight of the daily duties of the pharmacists and exposed me to the clinical side of pharmacy. It also helped me to develop technical, organizational and communication skills. I learned how to process drugs for dispensing; catalog patient lists for research studies; and received training on compounding drugs and placebos. My mentor provided me the opportunity to visit the intravenous (IV) room and observe the preparation of IV medications. I learned about the high precision required in the preparation of IV medications, the failure of which would severely affect patient safety. I also got a clear understanding of the nature of interactions between the pharmacists, nurses, and the patients. I learned a great deal from my mentor about the various fields of pharmacy and their respective roles. Participation in this summer program gave me an excellent opportunity to gain experience about pharmacy in a real-life setting. This volunteer experience gave me a general base of pharmacotherapy knowledge for the study of pharmacy and confirmed that pharmacy is the career that is most ideal for

I serve as a collaborator to the students by providing helpful strategies and study skills to grasp the challenging chemistry content and succeed in their learning process. This position has allowed me to demonstrate and enhance my organization, leadership and communication skills, which are highly essential for pharmacists. My most rewarding experience is when my peers realize that they are more competent than they believed. Moreover, the responsibilities which are an integral part of this position have also inspired me to strengthen my own knowledge and understanding of