Rho Chi starting semester with a bang
VCU School of Pharmacy’s Lambda chapter of Rho Chi experienced a busy spring and is looking forward to the same this fall as the national pharmacy academic honor society hosts its first-ever student-faculty trivia competition.
The competition will take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in Smith, Room 103. In a topical twist, the trivia questions will be in nonpharmacy-related areas such as history, literature and geography. According to Apryl Anderson, fundraising chairwoman, Rho Chi is hoping 10 teams will compete, each team comprising one faculty member and six students.
“We’re really excited about this event!” says Anderson. Faculty who already have signed on are Rachel Flurie, Abby Matulewicz and Emily Peron of the Department of Pharmacotherapy and Outcomes Science. Students who want to sign up for teams may do so by clicking here.
Earlier this semester, Rho Chi sponsored the society’s annual “Rx for Success” presentation, offering helpful hints for first-year Pharm.D. students. During the school year, members will be available for tutoring and review sessions and will helm Journal Club meetings.
Last spring, during the American Pharmacists Association 2015 Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, Calif., Rho Chi member Julie Patterson was awarded the Rho Chi-AFPE First Year Graduate Fellowship. Patterson, who is pursuing a combined Pharm.D./Ph.D. degree, is the first VCU student to receive the $7,500 award made possible by the Rho Chi Graduate Fellowship Committee and the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Board of Grants. The award is based on academic, research and personal achievement.
Dan Nichols, 2014-15 Rho Chi president, reported that the Lambda chapter was nominated for most improved during the APhA Annual Meeting.
About two weeks after the annual meeting, 2015 Rho Chi inductees — chosen based on their grade point averages and class rankings — were announced:
- P2s Mariam Abuagla, Apryl Anderson, Julianne Bonifield, Samantha Cho, Shabnam Dakwala, Ashley Fontan, Sean Haynie, Erin Hickey, Joshua Hicks, Rajendra Kandel, Dang-A Kim, Julia Lea, Jordan McEwen, Jeffrey McKenzie, Kayla Miller, Ashley Nguyen, Thanhtam Nguyen, Kassim Rahawi, Katherine Taylor, Emily Wallace, Skylar White and Jennifer Yi.
- P3s Serena Barden, Ashley-Nicole Carmichael, Agneta Liubinaite, Katelyn Melton, Anna Nguyen, Ginger Rittenhouse and Casrin Shih.
- Graduate students Daniel Afosah, Batul Electricwala and Urjita Shah
- Glen Kellogg, professor of medicinal chemistry
Joshua Hicks was elected 2015-16 president of the chapter, which was established at the Medical College of Virginia in 1929. Faculty Krista Donohoe and Phil Gerk serve as co-advisors.
