Qamar Dhafer is a final-year PharmD candidate at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.
Receiving the Outstanding IPSF Activity Award at the 2026 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition this past March was not something we anticipated. As the announcer described the initiatives behind the award, recognition set in slowly and then all at once. When the University of Houston College of Pharmacy was announced, the room unmistakably witnessed four student pharmacists—attending the APhA Annual Meeting for the first time—accepting an award on behalf of a chapter whose passionate work had earned recognition we had not dared to expect.
The moment carried weight because of everything it represented for our chapter. It marked our first national APhA–ASP recognition since 2019, and it was a reminder of the hard work our officers and members invested in this initiative. For a long time, our efforts felt like something known only within our college, meaningful to us and to our community but invisible beyond it.
Accepting the award in that room changed that.
Award reflects who we are, who we serve
That visibility meant something especially significant for a chapter based in Houston, one of the most ethnically diverse major cities in the United States. Our college of pharmacy reflects that. The population IPSF asks us to prioritize, including underserved communities, people experiencing homelessness, and those with limited health care access, is not distant or hypothetical for us. They are our neighbors, the people who show up to our events, receive our donations, and were educated through our outreach.
Being recognized nationally for that work, representing a city where global health is local health, was more rewarding than a singular chapter milestone. It reflected who we are and who we serve.
Our initiatives
IPSF gave our chapter a globally-connected framework for turning public health priorities into local action. During the 2024–2025 academic year, we implemented 13 initiatives aligned with IPSF Public Health Campaigns, spanning infectious disease awareness, medication safety, preventive health, and advocacy for underserved populations. From counterfeit medication education to a UK vs. US Pharmacy Practice event exploring global health care systems, IPSF programming pushed our members to think more expansively about what pharmacists can do.
Two initiatives captured that mission especially well. Our IPSF Homelessness Donation Drive paired educational infographics on hygiene, mental health, and food insecurity with a 12-day donation campaign that concluded with a meaningful contribution to Star of Hope, demonstrating how pharmacy students can address social determinants of health. Through IPSF's Vampire Cup campaign, we partnered with the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center for two blood drives, collecting 30 units of blood with the capacity of impacting 90 lives. Partnerships with the African Pharmacy Student Association and participation in the Mayor's Back 2 School Fest expanded our reach to over 400 individuals educated and more than 40 student pharmacists working to serve our Houston community.
IPSF connected us to a larger purpose
Our numbers reflected our growth as an organization, but the most meaningful impact is not always something you can measure. What we can say with certainty is that investing in IPSF changed what our chapter was capable of. It connected us to something larger than ourselves, and receiving the Outstanding IPSF Activity Award represents our chapter’s place in a legacy of student pharmacists who believe that local action and global connection are not mutually exclusive.