UNCW Students Path to Pharmacy
Sadie Sharkey ‘24 is a pharmacy student currently enrolled in the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Her journey began as a chemistry student at UNC Wilmington where she took advantage of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Early Assurance Program (ESOP EAP). Since 2021, UNCW has collaborated with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in a shared commitment to train the future healthcare workforce. The two universities created an Early Assurance Program, offering an automatic interview with the UNC ESOP program admissions committee for qualifying UNCW students, allowing students to bypass the typical pharmacy school application process. UNCW verifies that interested students meet the participation qualifications identified by the two schools and provide processes and resources to support interested students.
Sharkey first learned about the EAP through UNCW’s Pre-Health Programs initiative. With a strong interest in science, particularly chemistry, and in patient care, she had pharmacy in mind as a potential career path. She was not interested in dentistry or medical school, so she saw pharmacy as an ideal way to bridge her passions. Sharkey attended an informational session hosted by Pre-Health Programs and learned more about the program from a UNC ESOP recruiter. “After hearing about the program and learning about the different diverse pathways that you can take within pharmacy, that's what caught my attention, and I really started to pursue that interest more,” she said.
After undergoing the complex application process, Sharkey reflected on the moment she learned of her acceptance to the program in the spring 2023. “It was amazing. It takes so much off your chest just because the application was obviously a very rigorous process, but I’m glad that I got to do it so far ahead of time so that I could just relax and look forward to the future,” she said.
Since attending UNC Chapel Hill, Sharkey has become involved in the ESOP’s recruitment efforts and speaks highly of the program’s quality. “It is definitely the number one school of pharmacy for a reason. Our didactic program is extremely thorough, but it is thorough in the best way. They’re top class,” she said.
Looking towards the future, Sharkey is not yet sure what pharmacy career path she will take. “The program has showed us so many different areas of pharmacy that we can get involved with, whether that’s the research industry, hospital practice, even community pharmacy. We’ve learned about so many different things that it’s hard decide,” she said. Sharkey is expected to graduate in 2028.
Sharkey first learned about the EAP through UNCW’s Pre-Health Programs initiative. With a strong interest in science, particularly chemistry, and in patient care, she had pharmacy in mind as a potential career path. She was not interested in dentistry or medical school, so she saw pharmacy as an ideal way to bridge her passions. Sharkey attended an informational session hosted by Pre-Health Programs and learned more about the program from a UNC ESOP recruiter. “After hearing about the program and learning about the different diverse pathways that you can take within pharmacy, that's what caught my attention, and I really started to pursue that interest more,” she said.
After undergoing the complex application process, Sharkey reflected on the moment she learned of her acceptance to the program in the spring 2023. “It was amazing. It takes so much off your chest just because the application was obviously a very rigorous process, but I’m glad that I got to do it so far ahead of time so that I could just relax and look forward to the future,” she said.
Since attending UNC Chapel Hill, Sharkey has become involved in the ESOP’s recruitment efforts and speaks highly of the program’s quality. “It is definitely the number one school of pharmacy for a reason. Our didactic program is extremely thorough, but it is thorough in the best way. They’re top class,” she said.
Looking towards the future, Sharkey is not yet sure what pharmacy career path she will take. “The program has showed us so many different areas of pharmacy that we can get involved with, whether that’s the research industry, hospital practice, even community pharmacy. We’ve learned about so many different things that it’s hard decide,” she said. Sharkey is expected to graduate in 2028.
This article has the following tags: Students & Alumni College of Health & Human Services