Panther Profiles are Q&A interviews that highlight Panthers of all stripes -- students, faculty, staff, alum, board members and anyone else in the campus community.
Amelia Ekert is in her final year in the Pharm.D. program and intends to pursue a pharmacy residency after graduation. She talked to us about her experience at ACPHS compared to the pharmacy school she initially attended.
What attracted you to pharmacy and what did you want in a pharmacy school?
Amelia Ekert: I wanted to help others and I knew I wanted to be in health care. I always liked science. During undergrad, I had professors tell me to look into pharmacy because it really tied it all together nicely.
For me, pharmacy school was equivalent to graduate school. I wanted a place that felt professional and treated me a little more maturely. ACPHS actually was my second choice. I didn't come here right away, although I wish I had.
Why did you choose the other pharmacy school?
I was familiar with the area and I also had friends that were living there. The program was well-known and offered a lot in terms of professional and personal development.
What was your experience there like?
It was a very large school. I had gone to a smaller undergrad school and I had been in a very small program of study. I didn't realize that maybe a bigger school wasn't going to be the best fit for me.
One of the things that really didn't work for me was not having as much support from my faculty as I would have liked. There were several occasions where I tried to ask faculty for help and really was just not given the time of day. And that was really frustrating. I expected that if I was putting a lot of time in and working really hard, that they would be able to give at least something back to me.
What made you decide to transfer out?
It was really a culmination of a lot of things. Not having support from my faculty. Not feeling like the program fit in terms of the student population and the way the curriculum was run. Unreasonable expectations.
When did you come to ACPHS?
After I had finished the first year at my previous pharmacy school, and I realized I wasn't going to go back.
What was your experience like when you got here?
I felt really supported right off the bat. Even from doing the application interviews, I felt a better personal connection with the people who interviewed me, with the students that were helping to give the tours, than at my old school. I felt like they really cared about me and wanted to answer my questions.
As a transfer student, how did you find the process of getting to know people?
It was pretty easy to transition in as a transfer student, even with COVID. I had a transfer peer mentor who showed me the city. I made friends with other transfer students, and then I started joining clubs as well, and I was able to meet more people that way. Later, I ended up becoming a transfer peer mentor myself and becoming a coordinator of the Transfer Peer Mentor Program.
Aside from the small size and accessibility of faculty, are there other things you like about ACPHS?
The school is just very comfortable. It's small, it feels personable. I'm still expected to be a professional, but in a more relaxed way. When I was at my previous school, I had to dress up every single day. I like that I can wear professional clothes here, but I can also be relaxed in sneakers.
I like the city of Albany. You get your city feel, but you also have a campus as well.
There isn't as much pressure at my previous institution. There was a lot of pressure to do everything and to do it perfectly. And you can only do things so well, especially when you're learning for the first time. It was expected that you would excel academically, join a bunch of clubs, work at the same time and do well at all of it.
The standards here at ACPHS are also very high. We're expected to do well academically and hold ourselves accountable and be professionals. But if I make a mistake when I'm learning, it's okay, and I know that I'll be supported and encouraged to try again.
What are you planning to do after graduation?
I'm hoping that after graduation I will have a pharmacy residency and I will work in the field of ambulatory care. I have had seven residency interviews in the last three weeks.
I really like working one-on-one with patients and explaining things to them. When I've explained something to someone and they have an “aha” moment where they get it, that brings me joy and that's what I want.