I remember being in your shoes not long ago, worrying about application deadlines, making sure my suit still fit from last fall, and practicing all the interview questions I could get my hands on. The spring of your final year of pharmacy school is game time! You are putting all the pieces together—sometimes more than once—and landing that job you have worked so hard for. So, “Kelsea,” let me give you a few of my best tips for this stressful season.

When The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy prohibited in-person events because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our APhA–ASP chapter felt doomed. With our membership drive theme “Dive into APhA,” we had planned socially distanced hikes, picnics, and small group meetings to connect with our peers. These events were scrapped as we transitioned to meeting virtually, but our leadership team worked together to engage our members in unique, creative ways.

Renee Nguyen, membership vice president, and her team (Kevin Quidilla, Andrew Do, Eric Lin, and Catherine Nghiem) began the semester with Zoom ice breakers, dance tutorials, and game nights. We enjoyed each event, but many members still felt a lack of community.

MK Cella, Lipscomb University

Pharmacy runs in the Little family. Here’s Jonathan Little with Courtney, his sister and coworker at Hospital Discount Pharmacy.

In May 2020, I became the fifth pharmacist in my family—all of us having graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy. While I have gained a lot of pharmacy knowledge and perspective from my pharmacist family members over the years, I knew I wanted a very different career path.

On my first day of pharmacy school, someone said to me, “Membership and active participation in a professional organization is the rent you pay for the space you take up in the profession.” Perhaps I took that more seriously than most, as I became that person in my class; the one who feels the need to participate in everything and run for office in every organization they belong to. To that end, I served my APhA–ASP Chapter, where I learned so much about APhA and the breadth and depth of opportunities available to me as a pharmacist. Fast forward to 2020, when the opportunity arose for me to serve as APhA’s chief of staff, a newly created position.