Kristi Kinslow’s mission is to seek out students who might be interested in a career in pharmacy. As director of pre-professional studies and recruitment, she travels across South Carolina to encourage students to consider attending USC's College of Pharmacy.
Her latest initiative reaches even younger future pharmacists. Kinslow had the idea to partner with EdVenture Children’s Museum, located across the Gervais Street Bridge from the university.
“We are always looking for new and creative ways to recruit prospective students,” she says. “We were looking for ways to interact with kids outside of schools. We learned EdVenture has a Bio Lab on site where they feature STEM-related activities.”
This is hands-on experience, not only for the kids at EdVenture, but for our students as well ... Education and counseling are significant parts of what pharmacists do.
Along with fourth-year students who are on rotation, faculty members attended the first few sessions. Kinslow plans to engage student ambassadors for future presentations.
“This is hands-on experience, not only for the kids at EdVenture, but for our students as well,” she says. “Education and counseling are significant parts of what pharmacists do, so this helps provide that experience for our students.”
Peter Hiller and Lillian James, class of 2025, were excited to see children interested in activities where they learned about compounding, dosing and counseling.
“Working with the kids was amazing,” says James. “All the kids were knowledgeable and open to learning. They were excited to compound amoxicillin, or as they called it, ‘the pink medicine.’”
Hiller wants to be a better advocate for the pharmacy profession to children.
“It was fulfilling to help young kids learn important skills in math and science and give them a taste of what a real pharmacist does.”
EdVenture’s director of community and family health, Kathie Williams, welcomed the opportunity to work with the College of Pharmacy.
“We want children to think about their future careers. They can better envision their futures when they meet people working in those exciting careers,” Williams says.
Did you know? Gamecock pharmacy students volunteered more than 1,900 service hours to the community during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Topics: Why Pharmacy?, Pharmacy Education