White Coats, Bright Futures: Skaggs Pharmacy School Welcomes Its 22nd Class to the Profession

During the ceremony the students also heard inspiring remarks from honored guest speaker Rebecca Kandilian, Pharm.D., class of 2014, who was named the Distinguished Alumna of the Year by the pharmacy school. Among many accomplishments, she led the creation of several innovative ambulatory care specialty clinics at Kaiser Permanente that are now best practice sites and serve as models for the hospital’s other Southern California clinics.

“Embrace your curiosity with passion, ask bold questions, and seize every opportunity, for the field of pharmacy is constantly evolving,” said Kandilian in her address to the class. “Most importantly, see the person behind the prescription. Approach each patient with genuine empathy and understanding to deliver care that truly makes a difference.”

Read on to meet three of our incoming students, who shared more about why they were drawn to pharmacy as a career and why they chose the Skaggs School of Pharmacy for their training.

Accelerated success for dual BS/PharmD degree student

Sofia Perez knew she wanted to become a pharmacist while shadowing healthcare providers at a children’s hospital as part of a high school summer program. When joining a pharmacist during a patient visit, she watched them explain how chemotherapy works to a child.

“It was a heartbreaking and powerful moment to witness, when a patient really grasped the importance of a medication and agreed to taking it,” says Perez. “I saw that as a pharmacist you are a bridge for a community. You connect patients and healthcare professionals to the medications they need, and I knew that was what I wanted to do."

As a student in the seven-year accelerated BS/PharmD program, Perez had a unique opportunity to get to know the Skaggs School of Pharmacy incredibly well. During the undergraduate portion of the degree students have the opportunity to volunteer at the UC San Diego student-run free clinic, one of the largest student-run clinics in the nation; gain laboratory research experience; shadow clinical faculty working at UC San Diego Health; and more—which all helps them become competitive applicants.

“I was so impressed with the faculty here, including Drs. Fricovsky, Best, Tsunoda and Saunders, and inspired by all they have accomplished,” says Perez. “This is a great place to study pharmacy and I couldn’t envision being anywhere else.”

Being a part of the seven-year-program means that Perez will start her first year of pharmacy school knowing many of the students and faculty at the school. She looks forward to seeing her friends from the seven-year program, reconnecting with her mentor, William Gerwick, and getting involved with many of the student groups.

“Serving as vice president of the pre-pharmacy society at UC San Diego really shaped my undergraduate career,” says Perez. “I hope that I can continue to work in a role where I’m helping connect students to resources that help them succeed.”

Perez is also eager to dispel common concerns about the seven-year program.

“The curriculum can look intimidating but when you really digest the class load it is accomplishable,” says Perez. “Especially if you come in with AP classes already, which many students do.

Navy nuclear technician embarks on new chapter

Ever since he was a young child, Tyler Hurlimann was fascinated by medical science.

“I remember being in 5^th grade and learning about blood for the first time, including the complexity and level of integration that can occur at that level,” shares Hurlimann. “A liquid that was previously scary and associated with pain became something fascinating. It blew my mind.”

Hurlimann thought he might become a physician. However, due to life events, he decided to join the Navy as a nuclear technician—becoming the first in his family to serve. This experience led to world-changing experiences that he will draw upon as a pharmacist.

“In the Navy you meet people from every walk of life, whether that is race, ethnicity, religion or more,” says Hurlimann. “You learn to have mutual respect and care for another despite your differences.”

He was drawn to pursuing a Pharm.D. at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy for many reasons, including the high NAPLEX rates, breadth of research opportunities, small class sizes, curriculum, recommendations from alum, variety of career choices and more.

“UC San Diego was clearly one of the top pharmacy schools in U.S. and quickly became my number one choice,” says Hurlimann. “I also really liked the idea of pass-fail classes. In the Navy, I knew what made you a good sailor wasn’t just knowing technical information. It was how you integrated that knowledge into daily practice.”

Hurlimann is looking forward to his first year at pharmacy school, especially being able to focus on learning full time and experiencing the curriculum firsthand. He’s also delighted he will stay in San Diego for school.

“I’ve been stationed in many places, but San Diego has my heart,” he said. “It’s a metropolis and a beach town. It’s where I proposed to my wife. I’m delighted I get to pursue my dream career in my dream city.”

Pharmacy technician finds home at Skaggs School of Pharmacy

As a child, Annabelle Norman recalls always having an innate curiosity about the world around her.

“I was always asking questions about how things work and how we can make things work better,” says Norman. “I wanted to make sure I did something with my career that improved the lives of others, and I thought pharmacy would be the right path to achieve that goal.”

Knowing that she needed to experience the field firsthand, Norman obtained a pharmacy technician license and worked as a pharmacy technician in a community pharmacy before applying to pharmacy school. This experience solidified her understanding of the importance of pharmacists.

“Pharmacy is a field that is on the frontlines when new diseases or viruses arise and helps ensure that the public gains immunity,” says Norman. “Pharmacists are the trailblazers in finding new treatments and treating diseases.”

Norman was especially drawn to the Skaggs School of Pharmacy because of its extremely high pass rate for the California Pharmacist Jurisprudence Exam (CPJE), a licensing exam required by the state of California. The Skaggs School of Pharmacy is currently the #1 pharmacy school in California based on CPJE scores, with students scoring nearly 20% higher than the state average on the most recent test.

“The CPJE results were very important to me because it is a law-based exam,” says Norman. “I wanted to make sure I got the best education possible regarding law-related matters in pharmacy school.”

During the interview process, she was also impressed by the school’s faculty, the mission to train future leaders in the field, research opportunities, success of previous graduates and the opportunity to explore different career paths.

“Since I have worked in community pharmacy, I am really looking forward to learning about additional fields of pharmacy, especially clinical pharmacy and the drug discovery process,” says Norman. “I also can’t wait to get started on my research project.”

Watch the full White Coat Ceremony on YouTube.