From the desk of Karen J. Kopacek, Associate Dean of Student and Alumni Affairs

Thanks to the generous donations from alumni to the Student Success and Support fund, six PharmD students have received a $400 travel grant to attend a national pharmacy conference. A total of 10 grants will be awarded this academic year to students attending the ACCP, ASHP, or APhA annual meetings. Students are encouraged to complete a brief application and members of Student Senate randomly select the winners from the pool of completed applications.

The first two travel grants were given to Rachel Graves DPH-2 and Whitney Pilger DPH-3 who attended the American College of Clinical Pharmacy annual meeting in October. Four students used their travel grant to attend the ASHP Midyear meeting in early December in Las Vegas. Recipients include:  Megan Burley, Eric Chmielewski, Teresa Romano, and Kathryn Zaborowski. The remaining four travel grants will be awarded to students interested in   attending the APhA meeting in March 2017.

When asked what it meant to use her travel grant to attend the ACPP meeting, Rachel Graves shared, “As a second year pharmacy student with an interest in pursuing an infectious disease residency, the opportunity I received to attend a national conference was a valuable one. Your support of the travel grant I was awarded made it possible for me to present my research at a poster session to colleagues across the country. I was able to network with fellow clinicians and scientists and create connections I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Furthering my professional development outside of the school itself is of utmost importance to me and I thank you again for your support.”

As Associate Dean for Student and Alumni Affairs, I personally want to thank our generous alumni who have contributed to the Student Success and Support Fund to make travel grants possible this year. If you are interested in providing financial support for student professional development, click here to make a donation to the Student Success and Support Fund.