What all were you involved in during your time in college? (clubs, sports, extra-curriculars, volunteering, etc)

I was heavily involved with LKS, and held several leadership positions within Nu chapter. I was also a member of ASHP and Rho Chi. I volunteered as a member of my church choir, and I also worked as a pharmacy intern at a compounding pharmacy about 15 hours per week.

What would you consider the “perfect balance” for studying, work, sleep, and a social life?

I think that it is important to incorporate all of these elements into one’s life, but I don’t know that there is a “perfect balance” that would work for everyone. Personally, studying was always my number one priority, followed by getting enough sleep. I’ve found that I don’t study effectively if I haven’t had enough sleep.

Did you ever have to sacrifice one of the things above to maintain such good grades?

I will admit that in order to maintain a 4.0 GPA in pharmacy school, I did place less emphasis on my social life than some of my peers did. However, I did still have a social life, and I never felt that I was missing out on anything. Having a supportive group of friends definitely made studying easier.

What advice would you give your sisters about managing the stress that comes with trying to live a “balanced” life in pharmacy school?

I think that the best advice I could give for managing stress would be to plan ahead. Organize all of your upcoming events, test dates, project due dates, etc. and plan when you are going to do the things that you need to do to prepare for them. Having a plan for how you are going to accomplish your goals makes day to day life less stressful. Identifying small things that you can do to relieve your stress such as going for a walk or making a cup of tea can also be helpful.