It’s no secret that student loans are an uphill battle that most college students face these days. One third-year College of Pharmacy student teamed up with a few faculty members to educate her peers and herself on managing money.
President Bethany Misko spoke with The Pulse about Financially Fit Future Pharmacists.
Tell us about this student organization.
BM: Our main goal for the club is to bring awareness of personal finance to College of Pharmacy students. We want to provide knowledge that can help students form healthy habits that will help them become financially fit pharmacists.
The initial concept and birth of the club were generated by Timothy Ulbrich, Pharm.D., a professor of pharmacy practice. Now, we are extremely lucky to have Kunal Amin, Pharm.D., an assistant professor of pharmacy practice, and Brian Hoffmaster, Pharm.D., an assistant professor of pharmacy practice, as our advisors.
As an organization, what do you do?
BM: So far this year, we have hosted monthly meetings where different pharmacists who are interested in personal finance come and speak on different topics. We have discussed how to make a budget and learned about the impact of compound interest. I am excited to say we will be having a pharmacist-turned-financial advisor coming to speak soon, too.
As a fundraiser for our club, we sell roses at the College of Medicine and Pharmacy White Coat Ceremonies every year. The Financially Fit Future Pharmacists Club will also be one of the clubs involved in the Script Your Future campaign, which is a national contest.
What would you say to current or perspective students considering joining Financially Fit Future Pharmacists?
BM: Students should join because almost all pharmacy students, and college students in general, are facing a massive student debt load. There are so many staggering statistics on the loan crisis that is facing our generation of college students. However, there is very little mention of how to counteract this burden. NEOMED does have a personal finance elective, but not everyone may be able to take it, so we wanted to also start this club, so any student could have access to these topics.