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Pharmacy student finds his path

Third-year pharmacy student Ryan Griesbaum has known since high school that he wanted to be a pharmacist. He worked in a “mom and pop independent pharmacy” in his hometown of Eighty Four, Pennsylvania during his junior and senior years.

“I really fell in love with it,” Ryan said. “I had a great mentor who was a great pharmacist.”

After high school he moved on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he majored in biology. He also worked in one of the hospitals in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center network for a few years. While working in an intensive care unit pharmacy as an undergraduate, Ryan realized the pharmacy path he wanted to take: retail.

“I remember being in the hospital ICU pharmacy and just thinking, there must be a way to reach these patients before they’re here,” Ryan said. “I think that retail is the most preventative care you can really come up with, as far as reaching patients before their disease states progress to points that they can’t return from.”

Ryan decided to pursue retail pharmacy further when he met with Target representatives during an intern fair at the PC School of Pharmacy two years ago. He completed Target’s 10-week summer internship program after his first year and then again at the end of his second year. He now serves as a liaison for Target at the PC School of Pharmacy.

“I do screenings for students who are interested in an internship with Target,” Ryan said. “Students can share their resumes with me, and I’ll help prepare them for talks and interviews with other Target leaders.”

Ryan says that serving as a Target liaison has honed his leadership skills. Ryan is currently organizing a Target Leadership Workshop for all South Carolina pharmacy students that will take place in the spring semester.

“I plan to continue my involvement in community pharmacy with Target because of the incredible mentors and supervisors that I have there,” Ryan said. “They help me understand my strengths and opportunities in order to become a better leader and a better pharmacist.”

And Ryan’s involvement has paid off: he was recently inducted into the Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. He is also president of the third-year pharmacists’ class and a member of the Association of Student Pharmacists and a former member of Student Societies of Health-system Pharmacy.

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