I was born and raised right outside of Chicago, in a little suburb called Brookfield (yes near the Brookfield zoo.) My family has been there for generations. I even went to the same high school as my great aunt Audrey. It is safe to say that we have some roots in Chicago. I have never even moved out of the apartment that I grew up in (well we moved when I was twenty, but that was within Brookfield just across the railroad tracks). I have had most of my friends for all of my life and was always pretty energetic and ambitious.
My pharmacy experience began in a local independent pharmacy when, at the age of fifteen, I was hired as a technician. I soon realized how vital a pharmacy and pharmacist are to their community. The medications being dispensed rival in importance to the relationship which develops between a patient and their pharmacist. I loved this job. It was the perfect teenage job. I had this job before I even got my driver’s license so I walked to Fisher Pharmacy after school every other day. I sent away for my license as soon as I could and before I knew it, I was behind the bench and official. To give you an idea of how traditional Fisher’s was, there were photos of the pharmacy with a horse and buggy in the front with dirt roads. It also used to be a soda fountain and was around for almost a hundred years. It was perfect. I will never forget how this pharmacy taught me how to really treat people that walk into your store. This is what really inspired me to pursue my career in pharmacy. Unfortunately, we got bought out by a much larger chain called CVS/pharmacy. I never even heard of CVS and had no clue what there were about. I signed on anyway. As I pursued my dream, I continued working and attending school fulltime. It has been a long road to finally getting up the guts to apply to pharmacy school. I was so afraid of getting denied since I knew that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. However, I learned that you never know until you try. I was lucky enough to have a choice in where I wanted to attend pharmacy school, but my decision was pretty easy. The interview process at Regis was the best experience I had. Everyone was very positive, energetic and innovative. The multi-mini interviews sounded very intimidating. However, they were a great experience. There were nine interviews with various questions. Not all pertained to school and work. They seemed to really want to get to know the whole person. Regis understands that being a pharmacist is more than just getting good grades but also includes being personable and empathetic. Knowing I have family here made the decision that much easier as well. I actually knew people here which made me a lot more comfortable especially since I have such deep roots back home. Even still, I know I had to move and relocate. If I can uproot and start a new life, than anyone can.
