Fadumo Mire '13

Name: Fadumo Mire

Graduating Class: 2013

Major: Biology

Your Story:

My name is Fadumo, senior at Gustavus Adolphus College. I was born in Arlington, Virginia, but spent most of my life in the twin cities area.

I chose Gustavus because I loved the campus when I came to visit my senior year of high school. I was looking to go to a small private college so I could gain better interaction with my professor and I found that was possible at Gustavus.

My interest in pre-pharmacy started my freshmen year of junior high school. My uncle was in pharmacy school at the time and encouraged me to look into the field. I took a career exploration class in high school to explore different career paths. When we had the opportunity to job shadow a career of my choice, I did a job shadow at Fairview hospital in Minneapolis in the oncology and pediatrics unit of the pharmacy. I spent most of my time in the pediatrics unit alongside a clinical pharmacist where we monitored diabetic levels of patients. This experience was an eye opener for me because I wasn’t aware of the diverse fields pharmacists work in. Coming from a family of six children I enjoy working with kids, and knowing that I can work in the pediatrics unit as a pharmacist greatly sparked my interest in the field.

My Class Schedule (click to view PDF)

My most influential experience at Gustavus confirming pre-pharmacy path was my career exploration my sophomore year. I was able to do a career exploration at Moka pharmacy, in Minneapolis centered along a large Somali community over the month of January. I spent 40 hours a week working alongside Tusmo Jama, the pharmacist/owner, where I was trained to be a pharmacy technician. This was my first work experience in a retail pharmacy. Navigating around the different medications and processing the drugs was difficult in my first week, but I quickly gained the necessary knowledge and procedures. Since I speak Somali fluently, I was able to help the Somali patients, most of them elderly with chronic conditions and limited English proficiency. From my work experience, I witnessed many older patients taking wrong medications or inadequate amounts due to a language barrier. The pharmacist I worked with always took the time to explain each medication to the patients and educated them on the correct amount to consume. This experience really made me appreciate the value Tusmo took in her patients to ensure they were consuming the correct amount of medication. I would often assist her in going door to door to the patient’s homes to deliver their medications since they had no means of transport. Tusmo inspired me to not only help out the Somali community but also embody her characteristics in my pursuit into the pharmacy field.

1. Organized annual event "African Night" in 2011 and 2013

2. Apart of Big Partner little partner all four years

3. Conducted independent research over Fall 2012 with Sanjive Qazi on Pain Management

4. Co-president of Pre-Pharmacy club

5. Fellow of SMILE throughout undergraduate years

Advice:

I would STRONGLY encourage others to gain experience in the pharmacy field early on because pharmacy schools like to see you have knowledge and experience in the field you plan to enter plus many of the people that apply to pharmacy schools are older and have years of experience. Take the PCAT the J-term of your junior year which is helpful because you can spend the summer before your senior year to apply to schools. I suggest mapping out a four-year plan and make sure you get your pre-pharmacy courses early on within the first two years, mostly science course to help with the PCAT. Heather Banks is also great person to talk to about any of the pharmacy aspects.

Future Plans:

Entering Chicago State University Pharmacy School, Fall 2013.

Updated 5/9/13 JMV