At Convocation, APhA CEO encourages new students: Explore with an open mind to find your passion

September 5, 2024 by Mary Kate Brogan

A man in a suit presents to a crowd while standing in front of a screen that says "VCU School of Pharmacy. Leading from Within: Agency, Advocacy and Action."

At this fall’s 2nd Annual Convocation event, “Leading from Within: Agency, Advocacy and Action,” the School of Pharmacy community rang in the new 2024-25 year with a call to action from speaker Michael Hogue, Pharm.D., FAPhA, FNAP, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, American Pharmacist Association (APhA).

“Let me just challenge all of you to this: Come into your degree program with a very open mind,” said Dr. Hogue, addressing the school’s newest Pharm.D. and graduate students. “You do not need to have it all figured out. You do not need to have it all figured out this week, next month, this year, really even at the time that you graduate. There will be so many things that influence you and so many opportunities that are in front of you: Explore, learn, find something that causes you to have passion in your profession, something inside of you that makes you say, ‘Yes, this is what I was called to do, this is what I’m supposed to be doing.’”

A group of students pose for a selfie with two men in suits, the dean of VCU School of Pharmacy and the APhA CEO. — *First-year students pose in their white coats alongside Michael Hogue, Pharm.D., (left) and Dean K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D. (right)*.

Dr. Hogue, who has spent time in his APhA leadership role both on Capitol Hill and on the picket lines, shared reflections from his career with faculty, staff and new students in his keynote speech. He shared the importance of resilience and flexibility in our careers and professions. He addressed the important role pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists play within academia across practice, research and teaching in moving our society forward.

Before handing out six faculty and staff awards and celebrating five new faculty promotions, K.C. Ogbonna, Pharm.D., MSHA, dean and Archie O. McCalley Chair at VCU School of Pharmacy, reflected on 2023-24, the school’s 126th year and a year “dedicated to action” – and encouraged community members to keep the school’s strong tradition of culture and community at the forefront of their minds as they start a new school year.

“In this last year, I truly believe we’ve made tremendous strides,” Dean Ogbonna said. “I truly believe that this has been a year of action, but I also believe our work is not done. My charge to all of you today is to continue to lean in, listen, continue to be of support for our school and for each other. Today is the beginning of a new academic year – that opportunity to be of support to your colleagues, to our students. And so, if there’s nothing else that you take away from this gathering, it’s that our individual successes are our collective successes, and they should be celebrated.”