NC-HCAP News

LAUREN CURTIS: SEP prepares college grad for career in pharmacy

Lauren Curtis never imagined that car trouble would lead her to her calling.

A Spanish major and graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, Curtis had worked for a year with a state-government agency when her car broke down. “After my car broke down,” she said, “I got a job at Eckerd to pay the bills and to just kind of make ends meet.” That job, working as a technician in the Eckerd pharmacy, was what led Curtis to recognize that her true passion lay in a career in pharmacy.  

“When I started working at Eckerd I really liked it, even though it was a second job,” Curtis explained. “I was helping people and enjoying myself, but when I noticed there was a shortage in the field was when I really started thinking ‘I can fit in here, I can really make a difference.”

This realization led Curtis to her decision to return to college at East Carolina University to finish the pre-requisite requirements for pharmacy school and apply to the Science Enrichment Preparation (SEP) Program at UNC.

“At first I didn’t even know that there was a program like SEP at UNC, but when a friend in the Pharmacy School told me about it I decided to apply...” she said. “The main reason I chose to do the SEP program over the others I was considering was the length of time. Because the SEP program was two months instead of a week [like some others], I knew there would be growth involved.”

Her time in the SEP program gave Curtis the chance to network with practicing pharmacists in the area, as well as the boost in confidence she needed to apply to the School of Pharmacy at UNC. “After SEP I felt a lot better about my career aspirations,”
Curtis said. “I had learned a lot, and I was more determined, too, actually. I knew the training I had gotten would help me. ”

“Without SEP,” Curtis explained, “I don’t think I’d be where I am today at all. I’m very grateful to the program. It has been instrumental to my success.”

Curtis is now looking forward to entering the School of Pharmacy at UNC and has high hopes for her future. While she doesn’t know exactly where she wants to practice or in which branch of pharmacy she wants to work, Curtis is counting on pharmacy school to help her with her decision.

“After I get my PharmD, I’ll know more about the different branches [of the profession]” she said. For Curtis, helping people remains the focus of her journey; in particular, she looks forward to working with underprivileged Hispanic communities. “I know I want to go down to Puerto Rico for a while and get very fluent in Spanish, so I’ll be able to help people that way.”

Overall, Curtis credits SEP with giving her the competitive edge and the confidence she was looking for to get her started on her career path.  “SEP was honestly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I always talk about it,” she gushed. “If anyone is ever looking into doing a prep-program for health-sciences careers, I tell them: ‘you have to do SEP!’ I feel so lucky to have been a part of it.”