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Pre-pharm student fast-tracking degree to get a jump on the job market
Pre-pharm student fast-tracking degree to get a jump on the job market
Emilia Abdollahian, '22, knows exactly what she wants to accomplish at Ï㽶´«Ã½, and she's on the fast-track to get it done.
With her sights set on becoming a pharmacist, the 19-year-old from Fresno enrolled in the Stockton Campus' pre-pharmacy advantage program so she can finish in five years instead of the eight that it usually takes to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
"I was saving three extra years," said Abdollahian who's enrolled in the most intense of Pacific's three accelerated programs.
A science buff in high school, she decided to pursue a career in pharmacy because lab work and advising physicians on which drugs to prescribe was more appealing than spending most of her time with patients as a medical doctor.
Abdollahian, who graduated from high school with a 4.3 GPA, wrote her own ticket: She was accepted to three University of California campuses and Fresno State University offered her a full-ride scholarship for all four years.
But enrolling in Pacific's pre-pharmacy program meant she wouldn't have to apply a second time to its pharmacy school ─ admission is guaranteed if she maintains her grades ─ and it gives her a chance to get a jump on a job.
Abdollahian considers the highlight of her experience at Pacific the contact she already has with Thomas Long School of Pharmacy professors, who serve as advisers to pre-pharmacy students. The connections she made this fall led to a position as a teaching assistant for one of her professors, and she's hoping to work with another faculty member on a research project.
Abdollahian's advice to high schoolers considering Pacific's rigorous pre-pharm program is to accept all the help the university offers.
"Professors are open for office hours a lot," she said. "Second, the chemistry department has students who ... help you through practice problems (and) they also have free tutoring Ï㽶´«Ã½. If you take advantage of all these free resources, you can make it. You can be successful."
