Take risks.
Redefine “failure” as an opportunity to learn about yourself.
Know that you can lead from any position.
Those were among the key takeaways from a panel of alumni who spoke at the ACPHS Gozzo Student Center on Saturday, Sept. 28, during Reunion Weekend 2024. Pharmacists Dr. David Hughes ’16 (pictured left), Dr. Ryan Guilaran ’18 (right) and Dr. Soo Kang ’23 (center) shared how their experiences in leadership roles at ACPHS have helped shape their early careers. The panel was moderated by Luke Schmonsky, director of the ACPHS Center for Student Success.
Panelists urged students in attendance to take advantage of two key characteristics of ACPHS: the opportunity to try a variety of roles in pharmacy and a close-knit campus that provides a safety net for taking risks.
Dr. Hughes, the U.S. medical director hematology at Pfizer, told attendees to think of unusual or challenging experiences as “test drives.” When choosing clinical rotation experiences in their last year, he told them to ask themselves, “What can I test drive for the next six weeks?”
Dr. Kang, who has recently begun a job in pharmacy benefit management after completing a residency, encouraged students to be patient with themselves as they try new things. She told them not to get wrapped up in traditional ways of looking at success or failure, but to be open to experiences that teach them something.
“Give yourself grace,” she said. “Give yourself that time to figure out what you want to do.”
The alumni agreed the close-knit community of supportive classmates offered the safety net needed to take risks. Dr. Guilaran also said it has set him up well for collaboration.
“Even if there was adversity, we would have to find the means to meet other people where they were,” he said of his successive terms as president of his class at ACPHS. That has turned out to be an important skill in his position as a pharmacist with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. “You’ll be interacting with not just pharmacists but some people who don’t know anything about pharmacy.”
For Dr. Hughes, both his classmates and the individualized attention of ACPHS faculty were important in keeping him grounded and establishing his career path. His mother was diagnosed with cancer in his second year at ACPHS and died before the start of his final year. His girlfriend at the time, who became his wife, and friends like Dr. Zachary Hecox ’16, in the audience to listen to him on Saturday, stayed close. To help Hughes fill in gaps in his graduation requirements, Professor Laurie Briceland urged him to complete an ambulatory care rotation in the cancer center at a local hospital. That area of medicine felt too close and painful, he told her, but she persisted, sensing that it would be an important experience for him.
Indeed it was.
“Because of that rotation, I am in the oncology field,” Dr. Hughes said.
Alumni also stressed that in the pharmacy profession, continuous learning is key. For their own next challenges, they said they would pursue pharmacy advocacy (Guilaran), public health policy (Hughes) and a deeper dive into data analytics (Kang).
Two students in the Class of 2028, who just the evening before had received their white coats marking the start of their professional training, said the discussion was inspirational. Niandra Kyekyeku liked hearing about the different avenues the alumni had explored. Shanoya Grant said it was reassuring to hear they did not always know where they were headed.
“To know they were people who went through the same thing that I’m going through but found their love in pharmacy is really inspiring,” she said.
Students Shanoya Grant and Niendra Kyekyeku