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Meet Penelope Nwaukwa

Tell us a bit about your background

I am originally from Los Angeles, CA and received my B.S. in Neuroscience from UC Riverside back in 2018. I recently graduated from UCSD's Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SSPPS) with my PharmD this past May. During my time at UCSD SSPPS, I became a member of the national Pharmacy Leadership Society, Phi Lambda Sigma after serving as a Diabetes Shoe Manager at the UC San Diego Student-Run Free Clinic Project for 2 years. In addition to this, I also served on the SSPPS admission's committee for 2 years and was a student ambassador for 3 years.

Describe your previous area of research at UC San Diego.

Though the majority of my time spent outside of the classroom were more hands-on direct pharmacy and clinical experiences, I did do research analyzing drug exposure data in breastfeeding people for MotherToBaby (an organization that provides evidence-based information on exposures during pregnancy and lactation to the public) with Dr. Christina Chambers, who co-directs the Center for Better Beginnings in the Department of Pediatrics at UCSD Health.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pnwaukwa/

Describe your past involvement in the UC San Diego community.

Aside from volunteering with the UC San Diego Student Run Free Clinic Project, I was fairly involved with the UC San Diego community. I lived on-campus in graduate and family housing all four years so I would often participate in the various community events that GFH would hold for its residents. Outside of campus, my favorite thing to do in the San Diego area is visit the museums and gardens in Balboa Park.

Upon reflecting on your graduate student experience at UC San Diego, what was your favorite part and why?

My favorite part of my graduate student experience at UC San Diego was how innovative my program was. They encourage and are very receptive to student concerns and feedback and are always looking for unique ways to improve the program to make the program better for the incoming class.