Student pharmacists from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy collected several national awards at the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting in Phoenix, March 24-27.
The 2021-22 UF American Pharmacist Association — Academy of Student Pharmacists, or APhA-ASP, chapter finished first runner-up in the Division A Chapter Achievement Award. The Chapter Achievement Awards Program recognizes outstanding activities of APhA-ASP chapters at colleges of pharmacy in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Division A is reserved for the largest pharmacy schools in the country.
The UF APhA-ASP chapter won the Back the PAC competition for Division A. This annual competition challenges chapters across the nation to raise funds for APhA’s Political Action Committee, which supports pro-pharmacy candidates for federal office and educates student pharmacists on the importance of active political engagement.
Other chapter awards include a first-place finish in the Most Inspirational Category of the PharmFlix video contest. This year’s theme was Courage to Change and focused on ways student pharmacists and the APhA-ASP chapters have been courageous in overcoming challenges presented on campus and within their communities. UF’s award-winning video can be seen here. The UF chapter also finished second runner-up in the Operation Reproductive Health competition, which is a national patient care project focused on women’s health.
Aliese Dashiell, a second-year student pharmacist from the UF College of Pharmacy’s Gainesville campus, finished first runner-up in the National Patient Counseling Competition. The goal of the competition is to encourage student pharmacists in their efforts toward becoming better patient educators. Each pharmacy college in the nation can select one student to represent their college at the national competition. Dashiell received a plaque and a $750 prize for her first runner-up finish.
Jennifer Estrellado, a third-year student pharmacist at the UF College of Pharmacy’s Gainesville campus, began a term of service on the APhA-ASP Member Engagement Standing Committee. Estrellado currently serves as president of the UF APhA-ASP Gainesville chapter. Meanwhile, three fourth-year student pharmacists completed terms on APhA-ASP national committees. They include Ronald Levinson (National Speaker of the House), Shirly Ly (Chair of the Communications Standing Committee) and Ally Campbell (International Standing Committee).
Theresa Tolle, B.S. Pharm., a 1988 graduate of the UF College of Pharmacy and owner of Bay Street Pharmacy in Sebastian, Florida, concluded her one-year term as APhA president at the annual meeting. At a reception in her honor, UF College of Pharmacy Dean Peter Swaan, Ph.D., M.Pharm., said it was with great pride that the college watched Tolle lead the nation’s largest association of pharmacists the past year and thanked her for being a role model and mentor that pharmacy students could admire.
The 2024 APhA Annual Meeting will take place in Orlando, Florida.