By Marley Bickley ‘22

Third-year PC School of Pharmacy student Kennedy Crosby wasn’t exactly sure she wanted to pursue pharmacy when she began college.

Crosby first thought about becoming a pharmacist when she was in high school. She chatted with a family member who had just entered the profession.

“This interest was then furthered as I watched my great-grandmother struggle to take over 10 medications each day, some only to counteract the side effects of another,” Crosby said.

“Though I had this glooming uncertainty about entering the profession, I knew that God only made provision for His plans. So as I continued through the process of applying for pharmacy schools, I led all my efforts with prayer and everything simply fell into place.”

Completing Pharmacy School Requirements

As a freshman at Winthrop University, Crosby was still thinking about what she wanted to do after college. She decided to fulfill her pharmacy school requirements as an undergraduate student.

“Luckily, the pharmacy school prerequisites align pretty fairly with many science degree programs,” she said.

“So I applied for pharmacy school in the fall of my sophomore year with high hopes of getting accepted, but also being able to fall back on those prerequisites to fit a different degree program.”

Crosby chose the PC School of Pharmacy. With her pharmacy school requirements behind her, she could earn her PharmD two years earlier than if she waited until graduating from Winthrop before enrolling in pharmacy school.

“It made the most financial and logical sense for me,” Crosby said.

What to Expect in Pharmacy School

Crosby didn’t quite know what to expect when she got to pharmacy school.

“I was sure that it would be difficult and that it would require effort, drive, great study skills and time management,” she said.

“I was already accustomed to having heavy workloads and having to meet many deadlines every week. Additionally, my parents have always instilled principles of hard work and remaining driven into my brother and me from school and organizations to athletics and home life.”

Crosby says she’s been “pleasantly surprised” about the amount of hands-on instruction students receive at PC School of Pharmacy.

“Also, although I chose PCSP because of the tight-knit family atmosphere, I was delighted to see that that mentality has not changed since I began in the fall of my P1 year now to the fall of my P3 year,” she said.

Finding Her Role in Pharmacy

Crosby has only one year left before earning her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She’s focusing on the type of pharmacist she wants to become.

“I am sure that I want to go the clinical route instead of the retail route,” Crosby said.

“I truly enjoy taking care of patients acutely and the joy that it brings physically seeing recommendations you made for their care causing an improvement in their health.”

Crosby’s current interests include emergency medicine, critical care, psychiatry and pharmacy industry.

“I am hopeful that my fourth-year advanced pharmacy practice experiences will help me to narrow down on these interests.”

Become a Pharmacist 

If you want to become a pharmacist, you can learn at a School that can help you decide on the pharmacist you want to become. Please email or call 864-938-3913 to learn more about the PC School of Pharmacy.