The deadline to apply for our learning communities is rapidly approaching. For some learning communities, the deadline is a distant memory.
Don’t despair. One of the learning communities students are still eligible to apply for is Pharmacy House. And it’s pretty great. Shannon McCarthy is a current member of Pharmacy House and has a lot to say about her experience. I mean if below doesn’t finalize your decision to join a learning community, I don’t know what will…
When I arrived at Ohio State, I decided it was time to become more involved in the community and take advantage of the large and diverse student body at Ohio State. I wanted to get involved in activities specific to my interests so that I could meet new people and broaden my perspectives. Keep note that I am a shy person, so getting involved is a very terrifying thing. My first step to joining the Ohio State community was signing up for the Pharmacy House Learning Community. As a Pharmaceutical Sciences major, Pharmacy House was a great fit because it allowed me to meet a lot of the people in my major and ensure that pharmacy was the right career path for me.
The day after move in, we had our first Pharm House event: an ice cream social. I met twenty fellow students who shared the common interest of pharmacy as well as my hall director and academic advisor. I can definitely say that being in a learning community helped with my transition into the new college environment. All of the community members live on the same floor, so we started out the year by meeting many of our fellow residents. The Pharmacy House RA is also a BSPS student, so she is always around to give advice on classes and ways to get involved. Pharmacy House isn’t just for Pharmaceutical Sciences majors and is open to all students, so anyone who is interested in some aspect of the pharmaceutical sciences is a great addition to the community. One of my friends is a biochemistry major, but the learning community is relevant to him because he is interested in drug discovery and research.
The major highlight of the learning community is the opportunities to meet with professionals and students in the pharmacy field. We’ve had the opportunity to attend a dinner with the dean, a talk about addicting drugs with a professor, a general chemistry help session with a graduate student, and a discussion with current pharmacy students just to name a few opportunities. We also went on a trip to Cleveland to visit the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame and WIL Research. We had the opportunity to take a tour of WIL’s facility and discuss with employees the role of pharmacy in their research work. With a major of less than one hundred students per graduation year, the learning community has helped me to make quick connections with the College of Pharmacy at Ohio State. Another major benefit of the LC is Food and Fellowship. Food and Fellowship is a program which runs once a week for two hours. Our academic advisor, Katie, sits in the Canfield Lobby and is available to answer any and all questions. She also has food (lots of food!), which is essential to every Pharmacy House event.
Pharmacy House Trip to Cleveland, OH.
Overall, joining Pharmacy House has helped me to make quick connections at Ohio State. I have had the chance to bond with my fellow students, RA, advisor, and hall director while participating in fun events and learning about the pharmacy profession. By joining Pharmacy House, I felt comfortable right away at Ohio State and had the confidence to join other clubs and become an active member of the Ohio State community.