Abigail Riesgraf is a final-year PharmD candidate at the South Dakota State University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.
This past year was one of the best and most difficult years I have encountered thus far. It has been packed full of exciting opportunities, as I completed my third year of pharmacy school, faced a cavernous malformation diagnosis, got engaged, and began tackling my final year of school. In 2025, my life will be filled with even more changes, as I begin interviewing for inpatient-based residency programs in the Midwest and have to leave my home and friends of the past 6 years.
Since graduating high school, I have tried to focus more on enjoying the stage of life I am currently in and making the absolute most of it while I can. With this same idea in mind, I want to take advantage of three opportunities and encourage you to do the same!
1. Soak in final college experiences
I first want to soak in my last true semester of college and all it has to offer. I want to make time to attend basketball games and special events hosted by my university. These activities help me have fun with friends outside of school and create natural study breaks.
2. Connect with mentors
Aside from the fun college activities, I want to continue advancing my relationships with professors and advisors. We are all incredibly blessed to have faculty mentors in our lives who help us through stressful moments, steer us toward our future career path, and celebrate our accomplishments. I hope to utilize every chance I have to reconnect with these role models and acknowledge how much they have helped me along the way.
3. Stay close to APhA
Finally, I hope to stay as involved with my APhA–ASP Chapter and APhA as much as possible. All final-year student pharmacists know it is nearly impossible to make it to all the chapter events we would like when moving around every couple of weeks, but I want to further my connections with the amazing friends I have made and continue serving as a resource to current and incoming student pharmacists.
I hope my fellow final-year student pharmacists take at least one idea from this article and have amazing final semesters of college and great starts to their future careers!