Osagie Omoruyi ’19 is pursuing his purpose to be a leader in the field of pharmacy

You don't have to spend much time with doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) student Osagie Omoruyi '19, to see he is someone who is going places. While in his senior year of high school, he was accepted to both Kaiser Permanente's Summer Youth Employment Program and University of the Pacific.

"With those two things put together I just told myself this is a sign from above, and I'm going to walk within this path as long as it lasts," said Omoruyi. He has been pursuing a career in pharmacy ever since.

Through the Summer Youth Employment Program, he was able to get a close look at the different facets of pharmacy.

"The program rotated us throughout the inpatient pharmacy, outpatient pharmacy, pharmacy administration and pharmacy operation, as well as ambulatory care," Omoruyi said. "They even gave us a tour of their mail order pharmacy. That made it a really rich experience."

Coming to Pacific, Omoruyi was enrolled in the 4+3 pre-pharmacy advantage program pathway, and accelerated program to earn a bachelor's degree and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in seven years. After completing four years of undergraduate courses, he transitioned into the PharmD program.

"I would definitely recommend it," Omoruyi said. The advantages he emphasized were access to faculty and students, as well as the smooth progression from the undergraduate pre-pharmacy program to the PharmD program.

He is a member of Kappa Psi and Phi Lambda Sigma. He also served as the 2017-18 president of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). His advice for those interested in pursuing a leadership role is to overcome self-doubt by focusing on serving others.

"No matter what leadership experience you have, this one will be different. Because this experience will be different, take that as an opportunity to grow; to learn more about yourself and about working with people. Accept the challenge even if you don't feel completely ready. You can't grow if you don't challenge yourself."

Last October, he attended Rx Boot Camp, hosted by the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA). For one of the leadership training activities, students were placed in groups and asked to develop a business plan.

"The unique thing about this business plan was it had to incorporate the Advanced Pharmacy Practice license," Omoruyi said. His group was selected to present a poster at CPhA Western Exchange, April 2018.

Opportunities to grow as a leader

Omoruyi was selected as the coordinator for the American Pharmacist Association (APhA) midyear regional meeting for Region 8, which includes California, Colorado, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. He was responsible for helping plan the meeting, which was held Oct. 12-14 in Stockton. "I knew I wanted to take the next step and challenge myself, as far as growth and personal development," Omoruyi said.

Omoruyi would like to pursue a non-traditional career in the field of pharmacy. While he is still deciding what form that will take, he does know that he would like to stay involved with professional organizations. Connect with current and future leaders of pharmacy has been a highlight of his Pacific experience.

"I feel like I know a lot of the future leaders in pharmacy, so when it's time to take the reins, I feel like I will know a lot of those people." he said. "Throughout my time here, I have really enjoyed being able to network with the alumni and all of the mentors."

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about the author

Anne Marie H. Bergthold  

Anne Marie H. Bergthold is the Marketing Coordinator for Pacific's Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy.