{"id":31648,"date":"2018-10-19T19:54:29","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T19:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/?p=31648"},"modified":"2019-01-10T14:42:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-10T19:42:05","slug":"pharmacy-student-is-statewide-leader-among-peers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/2018\/10\/19\/pharmacy-student-is-statewide-leader-among-peers\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacy student is statewide leader among peers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifth-year Pharm.D student Amanda Loomis was nominated to College Leadership R.I. <\/em><\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/a>When Amanda Loomis arrived on the URI campus a fresh-faced, first-year pharmacy student, she didn\u2019t know what she wanted to specialize in, just that she didn\u2019t want to focus on geriatrics. She was spending her time just \u201cchecking off the boxes,\u201d as she said, on her way to a degree without focusing her eventual career path.<\/p>\n

But Loomis has never been one to shun any opportunity. Whether it\u2019s trying new concentrations in her career path, picking up a random book she knows nothing about, or attending a \u201ccompletely random\u201d university event that doesn\u2019t correspond to her usual interests, she makes it a point to try new things whenever the opportunity presents itself. So when Professor Erica Estus recommended she get involved in Cyber Seniors \u2014 a university program in which students mentor older adults in technology usage \u2014 Loomis didn\u2019t hesitate despite her earlier reluctance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always try to keep an open mind and challenge every thought I have,\u201d the fifth-year Pharm.D student said. \u201cI knew the most difficult thing would be finding one thing I really like to specialize in. So I agreed to give it a try, and I absolutely loved it. Now I know I want to specialize in geriatrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

That same open-mindedness and willingness to lead others into new experiences, along with her hard work and devotion to the profession, is what prompted College of Pharmacy Assistant Dean Denise Gorenski to nominate Loomis to the College Leadership Rhode Island 2019 class.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmanda has always been a hard worker, self-disciplined and really into the profession,\u201d Gorenski said. \u201cShe\u2019s an all-around kid. She\u2019s the epitome of a pharmacist.\u201d
\nCollege Leadership Rhode Island is year-long program (September-May) that aims to prepare students to navigate life after college. \u201cThrough experiential learning, students explore careers in the nonprofit, private, public and philanthropic sectors, while developing soft skills and leadership competencies for the 21st century,\u201d the organization\u2019s website reads. \u201cThe program provides students with the knowledge, skills and networks necessary to develop their professional lives and build a future as engaged Rhode Island citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group of 49 college students from around the state meets monthly to discuss issues impacting college students, learn from industry leaders what it takes to succeed in a career after college and network with fellow students. Topics for the current session include such issues as \u201cWhat Today\u2019s Companies Look for When Hiring,\u201d \u201cExploring Service & Rhode Island\u2019s Nonprofit Landscape\u201d and \u201cPerfecting the Ask: Developing Your Elevator Pitch,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk about ways we can work together and make an impact on the community,\u201d Loomis said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s also about yourself and your leadership style. You learn how everyone can be a leader in their own way.  It\u2019s a really diverse group; all ages, from recent high school grads to fifth-year students. Just being able to talk to that many people and connect with that many people will open doors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loomis hopes to work as a pharmacist in an ambulatory care setting or in a private practice. But her career options aren\u2019t set in stone. If she is learning anything from her experience working with such a diverse group of young professionals on the leadership committee, it\u2019s never to limit yourself or your potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry as much as physically possible,\u201d Loomis, a Coventry, R.I. native, said. \u201cI\u2019m going into this with an open mind, and challenge every thought I have. If I just go into the meeting and don\u2019t do anything with it, it\u2019ll just be another thing on my CE. I don\u2019t want it to just be another box to check off.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fifth-year Pharm.D student Amanda Loomis was nominated to College Leadership R.I. When Amanda Loomis arrived on the URI campus a fresh-faced, first-year pharmacy student, she didn\u2019t know what she wanted to specialize in, just that she didn\u2019t want to focus on geriatrics. She was spending her time just \u201cchecking off the boxes,\u201d as she said, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":31651,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1030,914,281],"class_list":["post-31648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-college-leadership","tag-students","tag-uri-college-of-pharmacy"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33967,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31648\/revisions\/33967"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/pharmacy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}