Reflections of a Graduand; The experience of studying Pharmacy in JKUAT
The graduation season is here yet again! Excited already? No? Well you should be.
The 28th Graduation Ceremony is scheduled for November 2016.
Congratulations are in order to all who will be awarded degrees on that day.
Especially for these Pharmacy students who did 15 whole semesters.
Let that sink in for a minute.
I was complaining about my measly 10 semester spread over 5 years of study yet there was someone so focussed and determined to get through theirs.
That is the case for David Kiretai, Felicity Karimi and Valentine Naitore and who joined JKUAT in May 2011, as pioneers in the then newly introduced Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree program which would run for a whole 5 years.
There were challenges being in the pioneer class. The College of Health Sciences didn’t exist back then and neither did the School of Pharmacy, it was simply ITROMID (story for another day) thus things were a little jumbled.
Semesters were hectic, sometimes handling up to 11/12 units in one semester; That is madness! While the rest of us groaned at the usual 8 and couldn’t wait to go on long holiday as much as we wanted to be done with the degree as fast as possible.
Felicity is quite the bubbly character, always smiling. And she is super psyched to be the newest Pharmacist in town!
David looks to be passionate, driven and focused, once he puts his mind to something he gets it done. Sorry Pharmacy and Poisons Board, you aren’t taking him down.
Valentine is the cool calm and collected one; Love for God, Family and Friends.
Let’s hear from these interesting people how life was as students in JKUAT.
- Why JKUAT as your University of Choice and why the choice of this specific program?
David : Before KCSE results were out I wanted to pursue an Engineering course (TIE/ECE/EEE). All I knew is I wanted to come to JKUAT. But when the results came out, Physics let me down and I had performed really well in Biology. So I reviewed my course choice and chose a Bachelor of Pharmacy at JKUAT.
Valentine: JKUAT was my first university of choice because of two main reasons: It has a very good reputation in the job market and it’s also known to have minimal incidences of strike. I chose Pharmacy because it is a very rewarding career especially when you get to interact with patients and provide solutions to their problems.
Felicity: All along I knew that my interest lay in the medical field. At first I wanted to pursue Medicine, but after further research I realized that it wasn’t a perfect fit for me. Then I came across Pharmacy, which was like a twist to Medicine that I liked more.
- Did the training at JKUAT match your expectations or was it lower/higher?
David: The training did surpass my expectations.The program is structured very well in my opinion; Our 1st and 2nd years of study are pre-clinical and once you get to 3rd year onwards, these are the Clinical years of study.
The services offered were improved, the Admin took really good care of us
Felicity: The training in JKUAT surpassed my expectations by far. There were so many fears surrounding the fact that my class would be the Pioneer Pharmacy class. However, we had a dedicated team of lecturers who made sure that we were always at par with the curriculum expectations for our course.
Valentine: My classmates and I were the pioneer B.Pharm class at JKUAT and that came with many challenges. However, the whole experience has made me a much stronger person.
- Best memory in JKUAT?
Felicity: JPSA events- I really enjoyed those.
David: My best memory; receiving the prestigious BABAROA Award in my 2nd year of study. That was pretty cool.
Valentine: Our first annual pharmacy dinner at Eton Hotel, Thika. It was amazing.
- Do you see yourself going beyond an undergraduate degree in this same field or would you like to diversify?
Felicity: Definitely! I’m very interested in advancing my knowledge and skills. I’m very passionate about Pharmacy and the field of Health in general; so most likely anything I do will be somewhat related.
Valentine: I am thinking of diversifying. Besides Pharmacy, I am also passionate about women and beauty.
David: I’ll probably do a managerial type of Master’s degree. My passion is in establishing a business. Once I receive the license, I’ll be moving on to the next step
- Are you excited to be graduating or will you miss the student life?
Valentine: Yes, am very excited about graduating in November. It has been five long years. I’ll definitely miss student life-affordable meals, guaranteed pocket money and awesome friends. I’m looking forward to the next chapter of my life.
Felicity: I’m too excited that I’m finally graduating! I had a good run as a student, I thank God, but I’m now ready to move on to the next stage. I’ll miss some aspects of being a student and although I don’t want to go back; I’ll definitely treasure the memories!
David: I am really really excited. I have been waiting for this moment since the day I joined campus. I will miss the friends and more so the fellowship of brethren that I love that became family to me during my 5 years here. I’ll miss the NUSETA JKUAT team too.
Godspeed to you all as you prepare for the Pharmacy and Poisons Board Exams and once again, Congratulations.
