A New Generation of Pharmacists Begin Their Journey

This year’s ceremony featured reflections from honored speaker Keri Hurley, PharmD, MPH, who shared insights and lessons from her roles as both health sciences associate clinical professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and board president of the Immunization Coalition of Los Angeles County, an organization that works to improve vaccine confidence and expand access to immunizations across the region.

Meet three members of the Class of 2030 and discover what inspired them to pursue pharmacy, why they selected UC San Diego for pharmacy school and what kind of pharmacists they hope to become.

From Pharmacy Technician to Future Pharmacist

Growing up, Issak Barajas watched his father navigate a range of complex work-related injuries, including chronic pain, gout and multiple surgeries. He quickly noticed the difference a provider made in his father’s life: When a health care professional took the time to listen, explain his options and show genuine care, his father’s entire attitude towards his health changed.

“My father would come home hopeful. He was much more relaxed, would have more energy mentally and physically. He would be able to play with us,” Barajas said. “I saw the huge difference a compassionate provider made and would love to be the person who can do that for other people.” 

Barajas’ interest in pharmacy grew after an older cousin graduated from pharmacy school and he learned more about her experiences. Soon, he began exploring the profession himself and eventually worked as a pharmacy technician, where he was able to see the pharmacist-patient relationship firsthand.

“Pharmacists are the most accessible health care professional,” he says. “Being able to see how they interact with patients and personalize their health care plan, answer all of their questions and make sure they’re heard made me realize I would love to do this as a career.”

Those experiences influenced the kind of pharmacist Barajas hopes to become: someone patients feel comfortable approaching, especially when they have questions or concerns they might otherwise hesitate to share.

His ability to speak Spanish has also shown him how language can build trust. At the pharmacy, he saw how quickly patients would immediately feel more comfortable when they realized they could communicate in their preferred language.

“Having someone there who can speak their language makes a world of difference,” he says. “You can see how they immediately relax and are more willing to open up.”

Barajas was drawn to UC San Diego due to its welcoming atmosphere, strong sense of community, and emphasis on interdisciplinary education – particularly the joint courses held with medical students at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Conversations with Faculty Member Andrew Willeford, pharmacist mentors and current students reinforced his decision. 

As he begins pharmacy school, he looks forward to deepening his understanding of the science behind medications and building relationships with his classmates. Specialties such as pain and palliative care and oncology pharmacy, which have touched his family, are of particular of interest, as well as research that could lead to better treatments.

Ultimately, Barajas hopes to be the kind of pharmacist patients turn to when they need someone to listen, answer their questions and help them navigate their care.

“I want to be the pharmacist that patients want to work with,” he says. “Someone they feel comfortable with, who will go over everything with them and they know is looking out for their best interest.”

Curiosity Fuels a Passion for Pharmacy

Laila Saint Christopher always knew she wanted a career in health care. Having experienced health challenges as a child, she became familiar with hospitals at an early age. Those experiences inspired her to pursue a career where she could help make patients’ lives a little easier, just as health care providers had done for her.

Saint Christopher also knew she wanted to explore her options before committing to a specific path. She volunteered in a hospital’s intensive care unit. She explored dentistry. Then, eventually, she gained experience in pharmacy. It was there that something clicked.

“When I was at the community pharmacy what stuck out was, I was really interested in what I was learning,” Saint Christopher says. “I was just interested and curious. I could sit and learn about this all day long.”

That curiosity only deepened through pharmacy internships and shadowing experiences. She found herself poring over drug information, asking questions about how medications work and exploring the differences between drugs used to treat the same conditions. 

Her journey to UC San Diego began as an undergraduate student, where she connected with Associate Professor Jacinda Abdul-Mutakabbir and became involved in her community-based research and health outreach. Through this work, Saint Christopher helped bring health education and screenings to communities with low Healthy Places Indexes®, including blood pressure and glucose checks and COVID-19 vaccinations. Seeing the impact of that work helped shaped her vision of the pharmacist she hopes to become.

“I want to be someone who makes their patients feel cared about and heard,” she says.

Her commitment to connecting with patients extends beyond medications. Saint Christopher taught herself Spanish and American Sign Language. For her, learning languages is another way to help people feel understood and comfortable. 

“When I visited my best friend and her family in the Dominican Republic and needed allergy medication, I learned exactly what it’s like to be in a place where you’re trying to communicate and everything is moving so fast,” says Saint Christopher. “When you make the effort to speak someone’s language, even if it’s not perfect, it can make them feel so much more comfortable. I want to be able to give that same feeling of understanding and support to my patients.”

As an undergraduate she also learned about UC San Diego’s unique seven-year BS/PharmD program, which was a perfect fit. Since she already knew she wanted to become a pharmacist, the accelerated pathway offered her a direct route to her goal.

As she begins the PharmD program, Saint Christopher is eager to explore the many directions pharmacy can take her. She is particularly interested in ambulatory care, psychiatric pharmacy, pharmacogenomics and international pharmacy. Her natural curiosity also drives her to understand the “why” behind how medications work, from drug interactions and contraindications to long-term side effects and toxicology.

Looking ahead, Saint Christopher hopes to use her career to expand what is possible for patients and communities, while inspiring others who may not have always seen themselves in pharmacy.

“To see a Black woman making something that wasn’t for me become something for everyone, is a passion for me,” she says. “I also want patients to feel cared about and heard, because there’s a lot of apathy, and I want to bring back empathy because I know what it’s like to have a disease.”

A Pathway Program Opens the Door to Pharmacy

For Charlyne Icayan, the journey to pharmacy began close to home. Both her mother and sister worked in health care, and growing up she also saw her father and grandfather struggle with illnesses. Together, those experiences sparked her desire to pursue a career where she could care for people facing health challenges.

Her interest in pharmacy took shape in middle school when she joined Skaggs School of Pharmacy’s Research Methodology Training Laboratory (RMTL), a six-week summer pathway program for middle and high school students from primarily Title I schools. Participants gain hands-on lab experience, exposure to health sciences careers and guidance on applying to college as well as tour UC San Diego’s campus. Nearly 80% of RMTL participants go on to pursue careers in the biomedical sciences.

Icayan still remembers hearing Program Director Eduardo Fricovsky share his journey. Now a professor at Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Fricovsky grew up in a low-income neighborhood in San Diego where he saw his community face many health issues and challenges navigating support for them. He first learned about pharmacy as an RMTL participant and today remains committed to serving communities with limited access to health care.

“I never thought of pharmacy as a career path until I went into that room and heard his story, which was so similar to my own,” says Icayan. “It clicked for me that I could be involved in health care, not a physician or nurse, but through a different pathway that still lets me connect to patients.”

After returning to UC San Diego as an undergraduate student, Icayan continued exploring the profession through the UC San Diego Student-Run Free Clinic Project and an internship at a local hospital. In both experiences she saw how pharmacists built long-term relationships with patients, helped them stay on track with their medications and care and supported patients during some of their most difficult moments. Those experiences helped define the kind of pharmacist Icayan hopes to become.

“I want to be a trustworthy pharmacist who can listen to my patients, what they’re going through and advocate for them, particularly low-income people who don’t have those resources that everyone has,” she says. “I want to be very communicative, compassionate and approachable, because that’s how patients get to trust their provider.” 

For Icayan, returning to UC San Diego to receive her white coat is a full-circle moment she never imagined as a middle school student. 

“UC San Diego was my dream pharmacy school,” she says. “I’m excited about meeting students who have the same passion as me, collaborating with medical and pharmacy students, gaining hands-on experiences in the lab, understanding how medicine impacts the human body, and learning and working with UC San Diego’s amazing faculty.”

Read more news about: Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences