Pharmacy Student Achievements

UC Pharmacy Student Darius Berry has been selected as a United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award winner. The award recognizes pharmacy students that made significant contributions to public health by promoting wellness and healthy communities.

Only 88 pharmacy students from across the country were selected. This is also the sixth consecutive year that a student from the UC School of Pharmacy has been an award winner.

Berry, from Cumberland, Maryland, graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and started at the UC School of Pharmacy in 2019. He will graduate with his PharmD this year.

He is president of the Pharmacy Student Governance Association (PSGA) at UC, and member of the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists, American Pharmacists Association, Industry Pharmacy Organization, UC School of Pharmacy Student Ambassador and Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society.

As a pharmacy student, Berry has been involved in the Industry Pharmacy Organization Value of Industry Pharmacists Case Competition. He participated in the Boy Scouts of America Medication Awareness, Script Your Future Medication Adherence, and Generation RX Medication Adherence initiatives.

He has also been awarded the Outstanding Leader of the Year and named the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy – Clinical Pharmacy Competition local winner.  He has participated in numerous screenings and COVID vaccination events and educated community members to administer naloxone in the event of an opioid overdose. He participated in the Department of Corrections Neonatal Outreach program, which educates female prisoners on neonatal abstinence and available community options.

Berry has also been named as the Outstanding Graduate Student at UC and will be recognized at its commencement ceremonies on April 29.

About the Award: The pharmacists of the United States Public Health Service established the Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award in 2003 to encourage student pharmacists to become active in public health. This annual award recognizes pharmacy students who demonstrate a commitment to it, recognizing student pharmacists who are active in developing innovative approaches to current public health challenges and those who will help lead the nation to a healthier future. The University of Charleston School of Pharmacy has established an esteemed track record in student achievements in public health with multiple national recognitions during its years of training future pharmacists.

P2 students Genesis M Solivan Plaud and Carolina Ramos were accepted to the 2023 NCPA Foundation-UAMS Pharmacy Ownership and Leadership Academy at the UAMS campus in Little Rock, Arkansas in June. POLA is a weeklong academy focused on leadership development, what it takes to own a pharmacy, and the best practices for competing in the NCPA Business Plan competition. 2023 saw over 140 applicants this year and only 40 were selected.

UCSOP students Khanh Phoung “KP” Truong, Minh-Hanh Nguyen, and Sindy Canales have been accepted to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Social and Administrative Sciences (SAS) Section Summer Research Exchange Mentorship Program. Participants in this program complete a research experience with a SAS faculty member outside their home institution, building their professional network and skills for residency, fellowship, and further graduate studies.

Truong will be working on a project to assess health policy issues and barriers to medication access among populations with chronic health conditions, Nguyen on a systemic literature review for type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, and Canales will be working on a survey about medication adherence and analyzing interview/focus group data.

Dharinee Kuvadia has accepted a Clinical Pharmacology Postdoctoral Fellowship at the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Sarah Govender, a P3 Pharmacy student, has been selected as a national student officer for region three of the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO). Only 16 students nationwide were selected for these positions.

Govender’s primary responsibilities will be training the executive boards at each school in this region, serving as their liaison to the national organization, and ensuring that they maintain the mission and expectations of the organization.

Ariadna Rigol Prat, Yairisis Rivera Serrano, and Natan Perez Sola have been selected for the CVS Health Spanish Immersion summer internship.

The students will be participating in the care of patients with a variety of acute and chronic conditions, focusing on the Hispanic community and utilizing the Spanish language.

UC School of Pharmacy student Ashley Lam has been selected as one of the Top 10 recipients of the United States Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award. Only 90 pharmacy students in the US are recognized for the award each year.

The award was established to recognize pharmacy students that make significant contributions to public health, including advancing the objectives of Healthy People 2030, the Surgeon General’s priorities, and the pharmacy profession.

Lam, from Ellicott City, MD, is a P4 student at the UC School of Pharmacy.

UC pharmacy student Sarah Govender presented an informational poster at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting held March 18 – 22, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. The poster was titled, “Educational Intervention for Providers Addressing the Diversity Gap in Cervical Cancer Clinical Study Participation.”

The Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) is a global, diverse, and inclusive society elevating the entire world of gynecologic oncology with the goal of changing “the future of gynecologic health for women and TGNC (transgender/gender non-conforming patients).”

Asjad Gariballa has been selected for an internship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Gariballa was one of only nine students selected for the 10-week program, which will take place during the summer, 2022.

The internship is designed for pharmacy students interested in experiencing nearly every area of pharmacy practice. Interns work side by side with world class pharmacists, providers, scientists, and allied health staff. It’s purpose is to develop and refine skills in project management and professional development while participating in mini-rotation experiences that offer insight into different career paths.

Harrison Yoo was selected for the operational track internship program with the Cleveland Clinic. The internship is with the inpatient pharmacy longitudinal program on the Clinic’s main campus.

This paid, year-round program challenges student pharmacists to think creatively and critically while emphasizing diversity, innovation, and the commitment to putting patients first. The program will prepare interns well not only for health-system pharmacy roles, but as practitioners and stewards of the pharmacy profession upon graduation from pharmacy school. 

Aminah Anderson, a P2 student at the UC School of Pharmacy, has been accepted to the Johns Hopkins Pharmacy Internship Program.

This selective 9-week summer internship program offers 20 pharmacy students a structured learning experience during the summer, intended to provide exposure to health system pharmacy practice.