Mike Raschka Honored as 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year

Mike Raschka portrait with his trophy
Mike Raschka (PharmD '12), the School of Pharmacy's 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year. | Photo by Andy Manis

A pediatric pharmacy leader, Raschka is recognized by the Pharmacy Alumni Association for his collaboration and curiosity

By Katie Ginder-Vogel

Mike Raschka (PharmD ‘12) says the most important thing he learned as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy was collaboration.

“You’re able to meet and work with nursing and medical students, which instills collaboration from the start and tamps down silos, which is so important for patient care,” says Raschka, the clinical pharmacy coordinator and PGY1 residency program director at Children’s Minnesota. “You can have a textbook-perfect treatment plan, but if you don’t work well on a team or get buy-in from the provider, you won’t be as effective.”

The lifelong relationships with peers that Raschka formed in pharmacy school inform his practice now.

“I stay in contact with many of my pharmacy friends, asking each other clinical or process questions, so our relationship is very collaborative now,” he says. “Pharmacy school is vital in the formation of many of these long-term bonds.”

“Looking at the names of previous winners is mind-blowing, and it shows how important it is to surround yourself with a positive, caring team because they’ll make you better and that will benefit your patients downstream.”
–Mike Raschka

Those productive relationships have led Raschka to receive the 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year Award from the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy’s Pharmacy Alumni Association.

“It’s absolutely amazing, and I’m very thankful,” he says. “It’s a tremendous honor. Looking at the names of previous winners is mind-blowing, and it shows how important it is to surround yourself with a positive, caring team because they’ll make you better and that will benefit your patients downstream.”

A passion for pediatric pharmacy 

Raschka planned to be a retail pharmacist up until a pediatric pharmacy clinical rotation at American Family Children’s Hospital in his fourth year of pharmacy school. He hadn’t taken the pediatric pharmacy course his third year and was nervous about the rotation.

“As soon as I started, it was so different from what I expected,” he says. “You see kids coming into the hospital who are sick and miserable, and a week later, they’re skipping out of the hospital, giving high fives. Those are our heroes.”

Mike Raschka accepts an award from Julie Bartell
Pharmacy Alumni Association President Julie Bartell (PharmD ’06) giving Mike Raschka (PharmD ’12) his 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year Award. | Photo by Andy Manis

Raschka’s preceptors on that rotation instilled confidence in him, too, and helped him gravitate toward that setting.

“My preceptors were optimistic and always positive, and that’s the type of environment in which I thrive,” Raschka says.

After graduation, he completed his residency at Children’s Minnesota, then returned to American Family Children’s Hospital as a pediatric clinical pharmacist for three years. He transitioned back to Children’s Minnesota in 2016, spending time as a pediatric clinical pharmacist, clinical pharmacy coordinator, and pharmacy manager before transitioning back to clinical pharmacy coordinator and residency program director in 2024. In this role, he’s charged with clinical oversight, clinical program development, quality improvement, policy and compliance, and mentoring pharmacists, residents, and students.

His transition from patient-facing care to leadership continues to challenge him every day.

“What’s kept me excited is that every day brings something new,” he says. “There’s nothing black and white in pediatrics. The questions I receive often have little to no published data available, so my recommendations and decisions are based on limited case studies and critical evaluation of that limited data. Working at one of the largest standalone pediatric hospitals in the country, we utilize cutting-edge treatments daily. It’s really a challenge, and I learn something new every day.”

Now that he leads multidisciplinary workgroups, Raschka uses the skills he developed when he was on the front lines of pediatric pharmacy to advocate for his staff.

“I look forward to developing excellent residents and pharmacists and working with national organizations to advance pediatric pharmacy.”
–Mike Raschka

“I enjoy being a clinical coordinator, working with providers and nurses on clinical initiatives, and working with patients and staff,” he says. “I look forward to developing excellent residents and pharmacists and working with national organizations to advance pediatric pharmacy.”

Raschka says that the foundation for his approach to leadership, mentorship, and collaboration was built during his time at the UW–Madison School of Pharmacy.

Developing lifelong skills in pharmacy school

Raschka reflects on his time at the School of Pharmacy as a formative experience — one that shaped not only his clinical expertise but also his ability to connect with patients.

For example, Raschka remembers taking on the perspective of a diabetes patient in Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice Denise Walbrandt Pigarelli’s (BS ’91, PharmD ’93) diabetes course. Over the course of several days, students tracked their blood sugar and practiced giving themselves injections (in this case, of saline).

Mike Raschka speaks at a podium while holding his award
Mike Raschka (PharmD ’12), the School of Pharmacy’s 2025 Young Alumnus of the Year. | Photo by Andy Manis

“We acted as patients for two or three days,” he recalls. “It gave us a patient’s perspective, rather than that of a health care provider.”

Karen Kopacek, associate dean for student affairs, teaches students to be confident in their knowledge of medications, Raschka recalls. When he works with students, residents, and new pharmacists, the first thing he emphasizes to them is that they have the most comprehensive knowledge of medications of any provider.

“The first thing I ingrain in them is that they own those medications, they possess the most knowledge about them, and that’s totally stolen from Karen,” Raschka says. “The passion she has, and her assertiveness in leadership, are second to none.”

Raschka says the resourcefulness he learned at the School is another skill that continues to serve him.

“They push you, and you have to get creative and utilize resources to find the best recommendations and answers,” Raschka says. “Medicine is changing so fast that finding information efficiently is very important.”

Pediatric pharmacy leadership at the national level

Raschka is an active contributor in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), a national organization that provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources enabling clinical pharmacists to achieve excellence in practice, research, and education. He was faculty editor and authored a chapter of ACCP’s new Pediatric Self-Assessment Program, published on July 15, 2025. He currently serves as vice chair for the pediatric section of ACCP and will become chair in October 2025.

“I wasn’t involved in a national organization in school and am now heavily involved, and I absolutely love it,” Raschka says. “I value the relationships I’ve formed with intelligent, caring, thoughtful pharmacy leaders at AmFam Children’s, Children’s Minnesota, and national organizations so much. I’ve learned so much from them.”

Raschka says he has learned to determine which aspects of life, like his work with ACCP and following his curiosity, bring him the most satisfaction.

“Always stay curious and be willing to jump out of your comfort zone. As long as you’re curious, willing to dive in and learn something new, opportunities open up,” he says. “Push to learn a little bit more and never take things at face value.”

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