11/4/2019
For the past couple of weeks since MRM2019 came to a close, I’ve been reflecting on my time as a regional officer of APhA-ASP. Just 2 months into my P1 year, I made the nearly 8 hour drive from Atlanta to Memphis to attend MRM2018 where I planned to run for a regional office.
I had been approached by our APhA-ASP chapter advisor and current chapter president, Amanda Hammond, the month prior, encouraging me to run for the position of Midyear Regional Meeting Coordinator. My limited knowledge of the position was simply that I would be planning a large event for students that would be held in Atlanta the next year. I had experience planning events (weddings, specifically), and had leadership experience throughout my undergraduate experience, so I thought, “Why not?” and jumped right in.
I prepared a poster, ordered campaign buttons, and practiced my speech probably 100 times. Amanda gave me something she called “The Capsule” and quizzed me on APhA and APhA-ASP facts late into the night to prepare me for the quiz I would be taking to determine my candidacy for the position. After arriving in Memphis on Friday night, I sat through a short interest meeting about being a regional officer led by a blonde girl who was the most welcoming and encouraging person I had ever met (whom I now know and love as our National President Kelli Jo Welter). I submitted my application, signed by my chapter advisor and Dean, and strapped in for a weekend of campaigning.
That weekend was a blur, meeting hundreds of student pharmacists, making connections across the country, and catching the infectious passion that oozed out of all the student leaders surrounding me. I could barely hear my name being called as the newest Region 3 MRMC over the sound of my heartbeat in my ears, still reeling over speaking in front of 500 people. I was sworn in, whisked into a transition meeting with the previous regional officers, and was about to begin the most amazing journey of pharmacy school so far.
A year later, I look back so fondly on that weekend that started everything for me. It taught me so much about myself, about my profession, and about the amazing student pharmacists who surround me in Region 3. I’ve now been on the other side of an election, cheering on the newest regional officers and helping them transition into their new roles. Congratulations to all the 2019-2020 regional officers, I can’t wait to see what you will accomplish!
Throughout the past year, I flew to D.C. for January Business Meeting, connecting with the other regional officers from across the country, the NEC, and APhA staff.
I flew across the country to Seattle for APhA2019, helping lead sessions and connecting with even more students.
I was inspired by my new friends from other states who were also involved in their state pharmacy associations (@Clayton Melson and Thomas Brewster), and began a student leadership board within the Georgia Pharmacy Association to give students in Georgia that same opportunity.
I was elected as chapter President-elect for Mercer’s APhA-ASP chapter and started preparing for the year ahead being a chapter leader in addition to my regional officer position.
I attended SLI in July, getting inspired by the most passionate leaders in APhA-ASP from every chapter in the country and speaking with legislators on the hill for the 3rd time since beginning pharmacy school.
During all of these big events, as I was representing APhA-ASP as a regional officer, and I was falling more and more in love with the association. I have never felt more at home in a position, like it was made specifically for me. My friends and family have learned not to mention APhA to me without being prepared for an excited monologue about whatever latest connection with a fellow student pharmacist, advancement in practice, or new campaign that I’ve uncovered that week.
I realized strengths I didn’t know I had, forced myself out of my comfort zone and improved on weaknesses I never thought I would have the confidence to tackle, and found my voice as a leader. I uncovered a career path that seems perfectly fit to me that I did not even know existed within the world of pharmacy, association management.
Most importantly, I realized that despite all the personal benefits I received from being elected as a regional officer of APhA-ASP, the best part of the year was seeing the impact I was able to make on the profession of pharmacy, the patients we serve, and on other student pharmacists. I am proud to be a future pharmacist and am looking forward to the changes that the profession will experience throughout my career. APhA is a huge part of making those changes happen, and I want to be a part of that! I am looking forward to what’s next for me within APhA-ASP!
