Cristian Rodriquez, PharmD, is the 2024–2025 APhA Foundation executive fellow in Washington, DC.
The APhA Foundation is elated to announce that student scholarships applications are now live and will remain open until December 1, 2024, at 11:59 pm PT. As a previous recipient myself, these scholarships are extra important to me, as they helped me catapult into the position I am in today. These scholarships are a testament to the APhA Foundation’s dedication to advancing patient care and represent their continued support for the future of the profession of pharmacy: the student pharmacists.
Beyond the monetary aspect
As a student pharmacist at the Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy, I tried to maintain active engagement with APhA–ASP both locally and nationally to take full advantage of the plethora of opportunities available to those who sought them out. It was not until my third year that I stumbled upon the APhA Foundation Scholarship Program and decided to give it a shot. Upon selection as a recipient, I found that the value of these scholarships goes way beyond the monetary value offered.
Thanks to the generosity of Valentino Caruso, PharmD, and various other APhA Foundation Board of Directors’ and staff members, I was provided the additional opportunity to explore some of the APhA Foundation programming, such as the 1953 Society and Women in Pharmacy events at the 2023 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition. These events are where I met some of the most impactful people within our profession and established lasting connections that began my journey toward the APhA Foundation Executive Fellowship. It is, in large part, thanks to these scholarships and the people I met through receiving a scholarship that I am able to work for the APhA Foundation today.
Scholarship put me on the road to fellowship
Much of the work done by the APhA Foundation is aimed at helping to highlight impactful people within the profession, including incredible student pharmacists. Our scholarship donors continue to provide funding for their scholarships each year because they truly see the value in giving back to the student pharmacists working tirelessly to make contributions to the profession.
The life of a student pharmacist is not easy; trust me, I know, I was there last year. Why not take advantage of not only scholarship money, but also an introduction to connections you never thought possible? It doesn’t matter if you plan to seek a career in the community pharmacy or industry setting, pursue a PGY1 residency, or any other of the many postgraduate opportunities, connections are the most valuable resource you can collect. Your ability to succeed postgraduation is not only about what you know but, more often, who you know. I can say confidently from experience as a recipient, the $1,000 was great, but the value of my scholarship experience came in the connections I made and still have today. I would not be the APhA Foundation executive fellow without the experiences I found by receiving an APhA Foundation Student Scholarship.
If you have questions about scholarships or anything about the APhA Foundation, please do not hesitate to contact me at crodriquez@aphanet.org. I wish you all the best of luck this application season and hope to see you at MRM2024!