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Academy of S tudent Pharmac is ts Universi ty o f the Pac i f ic
751 Brooks ide Road Stock ton, CA 95211
Volume X, Issue IV June 2012
First of all, I would like to give a
big shout out to Walgreen’s and
everyone who came out for making
this year’s spring picnic a huge
success. People that missed out are
sure to envy those rocking their free
baby blue shirts and stunner shades.
The entire body of TJLSOPHS was
present at the event, including faculty
and students from all of the various
programs. After another battle with
midterm week, this surely was a great
way to kick back and enjoy the
summer with our colleagues.
One of the main decisions one
faces when arriving at spring picnic is
where to start?! The sumo-wrestling
mat was the perfect place to show off
one’s machismo fighting ability. Other
activities included riding the
mechanical bull, water games with
the squirt guns and huge slide, and
grooving to the beats of the DJ. The
bake-off contest was a center of
attention as some lucky professors
judged all of the delicious cakes and
deserts made by students. Congrats to
Jennifer Nguyen for winning! Another
highlight was the grand watermelon
eating contest. There was a lot of back
and forth trash talking going on
before this one but Urvish Italia stole
the show as he SMASHED his slice in
half with his forehead and chowed
down on the melon to its peel. What a
winner.
Perhaps the most satisfying part
of the day was getting revenge on our professors via the dunk tank,
WELCOME
The News Capsule is a
bi-semesterly ASP-sponsored
newsletter. We always
welcome suggestions or
comments about how to
improve the newsletter. If you
have any ideas or if
you would like to submit
an article, please e-mail
us at: newscapsule@googlegroups.com
Your editors,
Vivian Lee,
Diane Suen,
Christine Vo,
Carmen Chung,
Veronica Lai,
Stephanie Tu
Section I National and
International
Organizations
1
Section II Pharmacy School
Committees
6
Section III Professional
Pharmacy Greek
Organizations
Inside the News Capsule
Shmangin’ Spring Picnic
ASP-ASuop Senator
Robneet Athwal
Section I
ASP 1-2
AMCP 1
CSHP 2-3
IPSF 3-4
NCPA 4-5
ASP (Continued on page 2)
An Active Spring for AMCP-Pacific Members
This spring semester will be an
active one for those involved in
AMCP-Pacific’s student chapter. We
will be participating in the 4th annual
Western Regional Conference in San
Francisco. This year, students from
the UCSF School of Pharmacy chapter
of AMCP will be hosting the event,
and students from many of the other
California pharmacy schools are
expected to attend. This will be a
great opportunity to network with
fellow students and practicing
professionals.
AMCP-Pacific will be holding its
Managed Care Roundtable Dinner on
Thursday, June 23. This will be a
unique experience for pharmacy
students to sit down with practicing
pharmacists and learn about many
unique niches of the profession.
Several managed care pharmacists
will be in attendance from a wide
variety of practice settings.
AMCP Finance Officer
Justin Warren
PAGE 2 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
especially after midterm week! As
for dunking Dr. Floriddia, let’s
just say the 1st years were getting
revenge ahead of schedule for that
adventurous PK final. The 5
professors that participated this
year included Dr. Jasti, Dr.
Floriddia, Dr. Uchizono, Dr.
Russu, and Dr. Guo. The best part
is that all of the proceeds went to
the Stockton Homeless Shelter.
Katie Maxwell, the representative
for the Stockton Homeless
Shelter, was presented with a
check of $180 thanks to
everyone’s donations for the dunk
tank. It leaves a warm place in
one’s heart to know you’re having
fun and helping people at the
same time.
Last but certainly not least,
it’s safe to say that the food
catered by La Carniceria left a
party for everyone’s taste buds.
The skewers, chicken, and bacon-
wrapped poppers were one of a
kind. For me, Spring Picnic was
definitely a well-needed break
from school and I had a blast
enjoying it with my fellow
classmates. ASP’s (especially
Shawlien’s) work into planning
this event certainly paid off as
nearly everyone needed a nap
afterwards!
ASP (Continued from page 1)
Pharmers in Action
This year, CSHP-Pacific had
the opportunity to serve the
community at Stockton’s annual
Asparagus Festival held April 27-
29. At the festival CSHP was able
to provide blood pressure, blood
g l u co se , a n d c ho le s t e ro l
screenings. Thousands of people
came out all weekend long to take
part in the festivities. Many
participants had never been
screened, or had their last
screening years ago. CSHP being
there was a convenience and a
relief for many. The consultations
provided were beneficial to
providing a high quality of life to
the residents of the Stockton
community. Throughout the
duration of the weekend CSHP
was able to provide 138
cholesterol screenings, 443 blood
glucose screenings, and 388 blood
pressure screenings; that’s a total
of over 900 screenings! It is safe
to say that the Asparagus festival
CSHP-Pacific Secretary
Chinye Nalls-
CSHP (Continued on page 3)
The judges face a difficult decision as they pick the winners of the bake-off.
Photo by Scott Harada
Ahaiwe
Photo by Chris Chang
Greg
Koyama and
a patient at
Stockton’s
annual
Asparagus
Festival
PAGE 3 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
In downtown Stockton at 423
S. San Joaquin Street, there lies a
gem by the name of Gleason
House. Recently renovated into a
medical clinic, Gleason House is
the former residence of Edna
Gleason, a Stockton native and
community leader. Edna Gleason
was a self-taught pharmacist who
became the first female of her
profession to own her
own business. Through-
out her life, she was a
humanitarian and
constantly worked
toward ensuring the
health and well-being
of the underserved in
t h e S t o c k t o n
community. Years
later, her home
continues to be a
testament to her selflessness. It
was recently renovated by several
community organizations to a
Photo by Marlyn Nicolas
was a success . Student
Pharmacists were able spread
awareness about the field of
pharmacy, while saving lives.
C S H P a l s o h a d t h e
opportunity to participate in the
Children’s Awareness Carnival
held on April 27. CSHP had a
goldfish ping-pong booth where
each child was able to receive a
goldfish for participating. The
booth was a huge hit. Kids were
lined up throughout the whole
carnival waiting for their
opportunity to win a fish.
Graduation has come and
gone! This year CSHP held its
annual Residency Panel where
current 3rd years discussed the
residency application process,
why they decided to do a
residency, and gave advice to
future students for obtaining a
residency. Many students were
eager to hear what the now
graduate pharmacists had to say
about their process. With the
field of pharmacy continuously
growing, more students are
b e c o m i n g i n t e r e s t e d i n
residencies and health system
pharmacy.
Inpatient versus outpatient
pharmacy, what is the difference
exac t ly ? CSHP had the
opportunity to hold a symposium
with speakers with in each
avenue to explain their everyday
work environment in order to give
students insight on what exactly
the difference is. Students left
with clear understanding of the
difference between the two in
order to make sound future career
choices.
CSHP (Continued from page 2)
Photo by Chris Chang
Rika Burk CSHP-Pacific Legislative
Chair with a student at the Children’s
Awareness Carnival.
Miguel Cobian, Chinye Nalls-Ahaiwe,
Sila Ozdemir CSHP-Pacific Executive
Board members getting the goldfish
ready for the students at the Chil-
dren’s Awareness Carnival. Photo by Chris Chang
IPSF-Pacific Goes to Gleason
IPSF Co-Chair
Adaeze Okeh
IPSF (Continued on page 4)
Gleason
House
waiting
room
PAGE 4 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
NCPA’s Third Annual Women’s Health Fair
On May 13, NCPA-Pacific
proudly hosted the 3rd Annual
Women’s Health Fair at the Chan
Family Health Sciences Learning
Center and Clinics on the
pharmacy campus. This event
was held on Mother’s Day in
honor of Women’s Health Week
which was May 13-19. With the
help of our sponsors, Target and
Valley Wholesale Drug, NCPA-
Pacific was able to host a
successful event. Doors opened at
10am when
p a t i e n t s
were greeted
by pharmacy
students and
each visitor
was given a
carnation as
a gift. The
health fair
o f f e r e d
n u m e r o u s
services to
p a t i e n t s
Photo by Lee Thai
Brian Pham consults patients as they wait for screening
services.
medical clinic that provides
cost-free treatments to homeless
individuals throughout San
Joaquin County.
Nearby, at the Thomas J. Long
School of Pharmacy, the
I n t e r n a t i o n a l S t u d e n t
Pharmaceutical Federation found
the Gleason House befitting to the
group’s humanitarian initiative.
This led to the development of the
Pacific Gleason Collaborative
Project (PGCP) whose mission is
to “provide health screenings and
patient education to the Stockton
homeless population through
collaboration with Gleason
House.” They hope to do this by
employ ing exper t i se and
knowledge garnered through
their experience as pharmacy
professionals and using it to
educate the public.
On March 8, 2012, PGCP had
their first collaborative project
with the Gleason House. In honor
of colon cancer awareness month,
PGCP set out to educate on
colorectal cancer. Also in honor of
National Women’s History Month,
PGCP’s educational resources
included brief biographies of
famous women
who have been
a f f e c t e d b y
c o l o r e c t a l
cancer. This is
the first of a
series of monthly
projects in which
PGCP will focus
o n s p e c i f i c
disease states
and cultures
honored for that
month.
As patients
trickled in to
awa i t the i r
services, PGCP
educators struck
up individual conversations with
them regarding their previous
knowledge of colon cancer and
provided them with personally
developed educational brochures.
They then educated interested
individuals using the brochure
and addressed any questions and
concerns that were expressed.
The team of students educating at
this kickoff event were IPSF
Co-Chairs Candace Chan, Susan
Deng and Adaeze Okeh in
addition to PGCP originators
Marlyn Nicolas and Jenny Thai.
Patients appeared interested
with the information and were
thankful for the individual talks
and education. At the end of the
day, about 20 individuals were
educated and exposed to the
information offered.
Since their kickoff event,
PGCP has started a toiletries
drive at the TJL campus to do-
nate to the homeless community
that Gleason serves. You can
bring your donations to the ASP
office at the Thomas J. Long
School of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences campus. Let us all lend
a hand toward building this
bridge from Pacific out to the
community.
NCPA VP of Public Relations
Nicole Dinh
IPSF (Continued from page 3)
Photo by Gleason House Staff
Candace Chan, Susan Deng, Marlyn Nicolas
NCPA
(Continued on
page 5)
PAGE 5 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
including blood glucose screening,
blood pressure screens, bone
mineral density screens and fall
risk assessment, cholesterol
screens and many educational
booths. Our goal was to promote
women’s health and to offer
services to benefit women in our
community. However, services
were open to everyone including
men and children. We were
honored to have Dr. Stavros
Stathoudakis as one of our
preceptors. He is a UOP pharmacy
alumni and the past NCPA-Pacific
board member who started the
Women’s Health Fair two years
ago. We are excited to keep the
Women’s Health Fair an annual
event and are looking forward to
next year’s health fair!
NCPA (Continued from page 4)
Angelina Williams consults a patient before taking her blood pressure.
Photo by Lee Thai
PAGE 6 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
SECTION II Pharmacy School Committees
Section II
American Cancer Society 6-7
Alternative and
Integrative Medicine
Committee
6-7
American Lung
Association 8
Drug Awareness
Committee 8-9
Legislative 9,10
Operation Diabetes 10
Operation Heart 11-13
Operation Heartburn 11
VNCARES 13-14
Since February, the American
Cancer Society Committee (ACS)
has been involved in several
events. As a committee we
attended several health fairs in
which we were able to reach
patients and educate them on the
importance of getting screenings,
doing self-exams, and avoiding
risk factors for cancer. We
educated on sun safety, breast
exams, testicular and prostate
exams, good colon health, eating
habits, and exercise. It was
amazing to see so many people
come out for the health fairs.They
were really interested learning
about the different ways to
improve their health. Our
committee provided each person
with take-home information to
help remind them about
preventative care. ACS attended
the VNCARES, PDC, LKS, and
NCPA health fairs.
The committee also attended
the CAC carnival. This event was
special because we were able to
p r o v i d e e d u c a t i o n t o
children. The children who
participated in the event were
very enthusiastic about learning.
ACSC 1st Year Co–Chair
Sarah Halcomb
Education and Donation
ACSC (Continued on page 9)
AIMRx May Adventures
AIMRx 1st Year Co-Chair
Christine Yah
AIMRX (Continued on page 9)
May was a month full of
adventures for the Alternative
and Integrative Medicine
(AIMRx) Committee. AIMRx
participated in health fairs and
planned a trip to the outdoors.
AIMRx attended the LKS
Hygeia Health Fair on May 6,
and with the help of pharmacy
student volunteers, AIMRx was
Sean Chu
(Co-founder
of AIMRx)
and fellow
pharmacy
students
educate
patients on
natural
supplement
safety and
lowering
sodium at
the LKS
Hygeia
Health
Fair.
Photo by AIMRx
PAGE 7 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
It was surprising to see the
children actively listening to
our committee’s information,
asking questions, and seeking
education. The carnival was a
great way for our committee to
get information out to a
different group of people. Our
focus was on sun safety and
we made the education
interactive by providing the
children with visors to
decorate and take home.
In May, ACS hosted two
events to raise money for
Relay for Life foundation. The
first event was the “Purple
Party,” held at the Ave on the
Mile. Donations were accepted
at the door and specials were
g iven f or those who
donated. The event raised a
over 200 dollars for cancer
research. Our second event
w a s R e l a y f o r L i f e
Modesto. ACS set up a team
called “Tigers for a Cure” in
which several Pacific
pharmacy students joined to
walk, sell baked goods, and
provide education. The team
raised another 200 hundred
dollars that day.
Summer is an important
time for ACS due to the
number of events that raise
money for cancer. There are
several Relay for Life events in
the area and it is important
for our committee to raise and
donate as much money as
possible. We will be holding
another event this month to
raise more money for Relay for
Life.
ACSC (Continued from page 8)
AIMRX (Continued from page 8)
Students at the CAC carnival were able to decorate and take home
visors to promote sun safety.
Photo by Kristina Benson
able to educate local Stockton
community members about
lowering their sodium intake
and natural supplement
safety.
AIMRx also attended the
NCPA Women’s Health Fair on
May 13, where the larger
emphasis was on the safe use
o f n a t u r a l
supplements. Community
members were informed on
r e c o g n i z i n g n a t u r a l
supplement misleading claims
a n d h a v i n g o p e n
communication about natural
supplements with their
primary care physicians and
local pharmacists.
The highlight of May for
AIMRx was hosting a trip to
UC Berkley Botanical Gardens
on May 12. A group of 20
pharmacy students attended
the UC Berkley Botanical
Gardens Tour. During the
tour, pharmacy students had
the chance to learn and explore
the importance of herbs, spices
and medicinal plants all while
enjoying the beautiful view.
AIMRx plans to continue
hosting events such as the
Botanical Gardens Tour to
enrich the education of
pharmacy students here at
Pacific on Alternative and
Integrative Medicine.
PAGE 8 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
ALA 1st Year Co-Chair
Nicole Dinh
ALA Breaks Through with Ambi-
tious Plans
The American Lung
Association (ALA) has been
ambitious and is planning for
many new and exciting events
in the near future. We are
excited to announce that we
are collaborating with NCCCP
in order to expand services to
individuals served at Medicare
part D events in the fall.
In addition to the nitric
oxide monitoring NCCCP
provides, ALA will begin to
offer peak flow measurements
to patients. By comparing
individual patients’ values with
population parameters, we aim
to gauge how patents are
managing their asthma. In
addition, we will be providing
systematic questionnaires to
further identify the efficacy of
each pat ient ’ s current
medications. Our goal is to
make each patient’s experience
as personal as possible by
reviewing their individual
profile and peak flow
measurements. By doing so, we
are able to focus our education
aspect on their individual
needs. Together with NCCCP,
we will be able to make a
bigger impact in patient lives.
ALA was inspired to start peak
flow measurements when we
attended the Asthma Summit
where we encountered many
patients who were seeking
education on what is a peak
flow meter and how to use it.
In addition to offering peak
flow measurements, ALA is
planning to expand our biggest
component of the committee:
patient education and raising
lung awareness. We are
currently collaborating with St.
Mary’s Interfaith Community
Services to provide smoking
c e s s a t i o n an d as t h m a
education classes. Look out for
updates from ALA as this event
comes out.
DAC Shifts Gears For Spring Service
DAC 1st Year Co-Chair
Daniel Kim
DAC (Continued on page 11)
The beginning of spring
marked a change in direction
f o r D r u g A w a r e n e s s
Committee’s outreach and
service. During the PDC
Multicultural Health fair in
Stockton, DAC provided
M e d i c a t i o n T h e r a p y
Management (MTM) services
to the attendees under the
s u p e r v i s i o n o f l o c a l
pharmacists. With two stations
ready to offer MTM services,
patients brought with them
their medications and health
concerns in hopes that we
could assist them. For each
intervention, one student
helped the patient fill out a
questionnaire and survey
sheet while the other student
analyzed the patient ’s
medications and prepared the
pertinent recommendations
with a pharmacist. Each
session lasted approximately
20-30 minutes. Both the
students and patients gained
tremendously from the time
and work invested in each
MTM scenario. This was
evident in how grateful the
patients were as one attendee
said that he would easily pay
$30-$45 for our service. With
many more health fairs ahead,
keep a look out for DAC’s
MTM opportunities.
For the Chi ldren ’s
Awareness Carnival at the
Pacific campus, DAC had the
privilege of educating 5th
graders on poison control and
prevention. Using a power-
point presentation, a custom
jeopardy game and a look-alike
sound-alike item kit, DAC
made a memorable impact on
the eager listeners as they
became surprised at how many
harmful household items could
be mistaken for
PAGE 9 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
DAC (Continued from page 10)
Our biggest event this year,
in conjunction with CSHP, was
Legislative Dinner held at the
beginning of the semester, and
it was a huge success! The
purpose of our event was to
communicate some current
voids in patient-care, advocate
how pharmacists are best
suited to fill that void, and
address how specific legislative
changes and movements can
initiate this part of the
solution to improve healthcare
and save our state funding,
time, and resources. Our guest
speakers included Dr. Jason
Bandy, CSHP: Legislative
advisory committee; Dr. Eric
Gupta, past CPhA president
and Pacific alumni; and Dr.
Phil ip Swanger, CSHP
Director of Governmental
Affairs. We had an amazing
turnout of attendees of which
included our very own TJL’s
administrators and faculty
members, political action
committee members from
CPhA (SJPhA/SVPhA) &
CSHP, local legislators, and
Pacif ic Health Science
students. We feel that our
participants definitely walked
away wi th i n va l u ab l e
knowledge and a new
motivation to be more
proactive when it comes to
legislation in the pharmacy
field.
Being involved in the
legislative process is an
excellent way to further the
pharmacy profession. The
Advocacy Key Network is great
a way to receive updates on
pharmacy legislative bills as
well as the stance of APhA
regarding those regulations.
It’s also a great way to start a
conversation with pharmacists
and impress potent ial
p h a r m a c y e m p l o y e r s !
To sign up for Advocacy Key
N e t w o r k :
Go to www.pharmacist.com
1. Top light blue tabs: Click
on Student Pharmacists
2. Left panel: Click on Policy
& Advocacy
3. Right Panel: Under APhA-
Legislative Committee 1st Year Co-Chair
Jennifer Novak
ordinary food items, such as
pine sol and apple juice or
windex and blue gatorade.
Before each class of students
left, each 5th grader was
rewarded a gift for their
participation in the classroom.
From doing presentations
on Generation Rx, GERMS and
Poison Control in classrooms to
providing MTM services at
health fairs, DAC hopes to be
involved with more new and
unique opportunities to serve
in the community.
Lauren Epperson ready to present on poison control.
Photo by Daniel Kim
APhA-ASP and CSHP Legislative Dinner
Leg (Continued on page 12)
PAGE 10 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
OD 1st Year Co-Chair
Sharene Manneh
Leg (Continued on page 15)
ASP Legislative Advocacy: Click on APhA
Legislative
4. Action Center
5. Right panel: Become an APhA Advocacy Key
Contact
6. Fill in the information
7. It’s also equally important to inform your
senator regarding pharmacy policies and
urge them to either support or deny
legislation pertaining to pharmacy.
Write your Senator via Email:
Go to www.pharmacist.com
8. Top light blue tabs: Click on “Student
Pharmacists”
9. Left panel: Click on “Policy & Advocacy”
10. Right Panel: Under APhA-ASP Legislative
Advocacy: Click on “APhA Legislative Action
Center”
11. Click on “Visit the APhA Legislative Action
Center”
12. Click again on the “Visit the APhA
Legislative Action Center”
13. Login with your APhA password (click on the
“forgot your password” link if you don’t know
your username and password).
Click on “Send a Letter to Your Elected
Officials” and follow the prompts to inform
them about pharmacy policies.
Asparagus Extravaganza!
Operation Diabetes has
been busy during these last few
months. One of our major
events was during the
Asparagus Fest iva l in
Stockton. Operation Diabetes
was present throughout the
whole three day weekend,
working alongside CSHP and
Operation Heart. Other
services that were offered
besides diabetes screening,
were cholesterol tests and
blood pressure screening. This
festival, while being one of the
major events in Stockton,
contains a tempting plethora of
fried foods and alcoholic
drinks. We even had some
people come to get screened for
diabetes with their asparitos in
hand.
Pacific
pharmacy
students
getting
ready to
screen!
Thankfully, we were there to
intervene and remind patients,
especially diabetics, the
importance of moderation and
exercise. We screened a total of
443 patients throughout the
three day festival. Overall, we
had a good experience and the
residents of Stockton seemed to
really respond to our presence.
Photo by Sharene Manneh
Photo by Shrene Manneh
CSHP president and Operation Diabetes co-
chair at the asparagus festival.
PAGE 11 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
Heartburn in the Streets
It’s that time of the year
when heat starts to bake the
pharmacy campus and students
tend to stay
indoors to keep
coo l . This
wasn’t the case
for the co-
chairs and
p r o j e c t
managers of
O p e r a t i o n
H e a r t b u r n .
O p e r a t i o n
Heartburn hit
the streets and
all the major
health fairs to
educate the
c o m m u n i t y
a b o u t
heartburn and
gas troesophageal re f lux
d i s e a s e .
This semester was filled
with lots of health fairs set up
by different organizations.
O p e r a t i o n H e a r t b u r n
participated in all of the health
fairs trying to educate the
c o m m u n i t y a b o u t t h e
prevalence of heartburn and
different methods to prevent
h e a r t b u r n . O p e r a t i o n
heartburn screened and
identified over 150 patients
with heartburn and gave
consults to those patients to
make sure their heartburn was
well-controlled and their
medications were appropriate.
Ultimately, Operation
Heartburn’s main goal was to
spread awareness amongst our
peers and the community.
About 60 million Americans are
a f f e c t e d b y
heartburn every
m o n t h a n d
O p e r a t i o n
Heartburn is
contributing little
by little to raise
awareness and
o f f e r b e t t e r
m e d i c a t i o n
management to
patients
in the San
Joaquin area. . As
f u t u r e
pharmacists, the
basic knowledge
of heartburn and
G E R D
prevention can drastically
improve the livelihoods of our
patients.
OHb 1st Year Co-Chair
Jong Min Park
Want to know about heartburn, yes? Photo by CSHP Pacific
OH Reaching Out to Community and
Students on Campus
OH 1st Year Co-Chair
Radha Changela
Operation Heart continues
to serve the community by
conducting health screenings
for cholesterol and blood
pressure, as well as educating
people about heart-healthy
lifestyle modifications. This
semester, OH participated in
the LKS Hygeia Health Fair on
May 6th. Through this health
fair, OH was able to conduct
cholesterol screenings for
elderly and Hispanic patients
at the First Baptist Church on
El Dorado Street in Stockton.
Our booth performed health
screenings for more than 35
patients at the church. It is
extremely rewarding for our
committee to take part in such
OH (Continued on page 14)
PAGE 12 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
outreach events in the
community so that we can
provide cholesterol screenings
which are not easily available
for people, as well as educate
them about maintaining a
heart healthy lifestyle.
OH also conducted health
screenings during the NCPA
Women’s Health Fair on May
13th, which was held here, on
Pacific campus. OH was able to
help screen and educate about
40 patients during this event.
Health fair events held on
campus like this are extremely
helpful in bringing people from
the community to Pacific, and
OH was glad to be a part of
this event.
In addition to these health
fairs, OH organized the
Symposium “Time is Brain:
OH (Continued from page 13)
OH (Continued on page 15
Cholesterol screening offered by OH at NCPA Women’s Health Fair. Photo by Lee Thai
OH Symposium - Time is Brain: Act FAST!
Photo by Radha Changela
PAGE 13 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
VNCares Publicity Officer
Peter Lai
Act FAST” at the Rotunda on
June 12th. Students got an
exciting opportunity to learn
about Pharmacists’ role in
Stroke Prevention from Dr.
Deepti Vyas, Pacific’s brand
new faculty member. It was a
nice and refreshing welcome
for all of us after the rigorous
midterm week as we got a
chance to learn more about
ischemic stroke symptoms, risk
factors, and prevention. The
presentation helped us learn
simple assessment tests that
we, as future Pharmacists can
conduct in varied busy
pharmacy settings, and hence
not only help prevent stroke
but also further promote our
profession in health care. The
team of Operation Heart
sincerely thanks Dr. Deepti
Vyas for giving us such an
interesting and informative
presentation.
This summer, OH
provided cholesterol screenings
at Rho Pi Phi’s Living Hope
Health Fair at the LifeSong
Church in Stockton and
VNCARES Summer Health
Fair at the Vietnamese
American Community Center
of the East Bay in Oakland.
With the support of other
committees and organizations
on campus as well as our hard-
working volunteers, OH will
continue to serve the
community as best as possible!
OH (Continued from page 14)
Empowering Patients Through Education
On March 28, the
V N C A R E S C o m m i t t e e
attended the third annual
Human Faces of Health Care
Health Fair at Andrew Hill
High School organized by the
Andrew Hill High School
Health and Human Services
Program and the Santa Clara
County Single Payer Health
Care Coalition. Over 400
attendees, including San Jose’s
Vice Mayor, Madison Nguyen,
participated in the various
e d u c a t i o n bo o t h s a n d
screenings. The VNCARES
committee provided over 70
glucose and bone mineral
density screenings for the
members from the school and
surrounding community. Since
the event was held at the local
High School, attendees were
from the local community,
w h i c h c o m p r i s e d o f
predominantly Latino,
Hispanic, and Vietnamese
ethnicities. With help from
translators, the committee
helped bridge the language
barrier by speaking in
Vietnamese to explain the
procedures and forms to each
patient. When asked about his
thoughts about the event, 2nd
year Historian Long Vo said,
“It’s rewarding when I am able
to use my cultural background
to connect to patients by doing
events like this where I can
communicate in Vietnamese.
Although I am not exactly
fluent, it was a good chance to
practice and expand my skill
set which is something I
encourage everyone to do.”
The following week on May
4th, the VNCARES Committee
participated in the Elmwood
Elementary School Spring
Festival/Health Fair in an
education table. We educated
students and parents about the
problems associated with
diabetes and childhood obesity
and shed light on healthy
eating habits to improve or
prevent these problems. We
borrowed the diabetes poster
from Operation Diabetes to
educate on diabetes prevention,
exercise, and the food pyramid.
Katie Duong, Lana Nguyen,
Tien Tran and Mai Tran
created a display that
contrasted some of the healthy
and unhealthy food in a
colorful and interactive poster.
Part of the poster was designed
as a game to educate children
about the caloric values of
certain foods. Pictures of foods
such as corn oil, fish, nuts, and
ramen noodles were placed on
one side of the paper and
revealed how many calories
each serving contained when
flipped over. This activity
PAGE 14 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
VNCARES (Continued from page 15)
challenged children to learn
which oils were better to
consume and which foods
contained them. Also, the
committee filled empty soda
bottles, soda cans and popular
juices with granulated sugar
that matched the total
amount of dissolved sugar in
the bottle. This visual aid
shocked both students and
parents when they saw the
amount of sugar popular
drinks contained. Mai Tran,
2nd year project manager,
said “They didn’t realize how
much sugar they were taking
in every day and started to
rethink what they were
consuming, especially soda. I
am glad that I brought forth
this important issue and hope
that I changed their lives.”
Both events were very
successful and allowed us to
touch the lives of many
individuals. We look forward
to continue reaching out to
the underserved with our
upcoming summer health fair
located at the Vietnamese
American Community Center
of East Bay in Oakland.
Lana Nguyen teaching children about healthy eating. Photo by Chris Chang
PAGE 15 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
Slip into Summer
SECTION III Professional Pharmacy Greek Organizations
The annual Asparagus
Festival was a huge hit this
year in downtown Stockton,
where the brothers of Kappa
Psi helped sell deep-fried
asparagus for local charities.
The experience was not only a
lot of fun, but it reminded us
how lively the city of Stockton
can be.
Third-year students were
also back in town for
graduation and it was time to
reconnect and celebrate in
the hot Stockton sun. We
rented an inflatable slip n’
slide and grilled up some
burgers in the backyard of
the Kappa Psi house.
There was good food,
music, and laughter all
around as we welcomed our
brothers and sisters back.
Although we’ll miss them, we
know they’ll always come
back, remembering the good
times we had at the house.
KY Historian
Jarrett Chang
Photo by Jarrett Chang
The Kappa Psi family “slipping” into summer.
Section III
KY 15
LKS 16
PDC 17-18
RPP 19
PAGE 16 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
Hygeia Health Fair and So Much More!
The summer semester
started off with a bang for the
sisters of Lambda Kappa
Sigma, beginning with their
first annual Hygeia Health
Fair held on Sunday, May 6
at First Baptist Church in
Stockton. In preparation for
the health fair, the sisters
publ i c i zed througho ut
Stockton. You may even have
heard President Su Kang on
the radio inviting the public
to stop by the health fair to
take advantage of the free
health screenings, which
included blood pressure,
cholesterol, blood glucose,
and bone density. In addition
to these screenings and
health consultations, the
sisters also focused on
educating kids about their
health, along with other
activities like face painting
and making Mother’s Day
cards. Based on the feedback
from both the attendees and
the volunteers, the health fair
was a great success. LKS
would like to thank the
preceptors, faculty, church
and all committees for
helping us make our first
health fair an extremely
successful event.
Soon after the health fair
L K S c e l e b r a t e d t h e
graduation of our third year
sisters, now alumni: Dr. Mia
Choy, Dr. Tracey Huey, Dr.
Margaret Lee, Dr. Estefania
Li, Dr. Jennifer Nguyen, Dr.
Stacey Wu, and Dr. Jillian
Yoong. Before graduation we
all had a chance to catch up
and have dinner with them.
Each sister gave us advice
about rotations and what to
expect outside of school. The
new graduates also told us to
enjoy school while it lasts,
because three years will pass
by fast! LKS would like to
wish all of the graduating
sisters good luck on their
future endeavors!
LKS Corresponding Secretary
Michele Louie
Photo by Jenny Nguyen
Jessica Chu figuring out “what healthy means to me” with kids.
Congratulations to our graduating sisters! Photo by Brenda Ng
PAGE 17 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
Phi Delta Chi Celebrates in the Summer
Heading into the summer,
the chapter wrapped up
another great year, celebrating
our accomplishments and
brotherhood at our annual Tom
Stout Thousand formal event.
On April 14, active brothers,
alumni, and honored guests
gathered at Brookside Country
Club for a day of golf, good
food, and great company.
Brothers also took the time to
pay tribute to and remember
the accomplishments and
dedication of late brother, Tom
Stout. In the spirit of
r e c o g n i z i n g b r o t h e r s ’
excellence and dedication to
the chapter, the Gerald A.
Miller Scholarship, and the
Distinguished Alumnus Award
were presented to brothers
Daniel Salas and alumnus An-
Chun Kwan. The chapter is
p r o u d t o h a v e s u c h
outstanding brothers.
C o nt i nu i n g a no t h e r
annual summer tradition, the
brothers were delighted to
volunteer at Stockton’s 27th
Annual Asparagus Festival.
From April 27 to April 29,
brothers worked at the fried
asparagus tents, accepting
tickets and orders for endless
lines of hungry fair goers.
Working alongside locals, the
brothers enjoyed a feeling of
kinship and connectedness
with the Stockton community.
T h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e
commencement ceremonies on
May 5 kicked off a period of
festivity for the chapter as we
celebrated the achievements of
our graduates. Five of our
undergraduate brothers
proudly walked the stage to
receive their diplomas and
make their final step towards
Pharmacy School. Brothers
were able to reconnect with our
third year pharmacy students
during Senior Grad Week in
the third week of May. As the
third years trickled back into
Stockton, the chapter was busy
preparing a weekend of fun for
both the seniors and their
families. Senior Roast on May
17 was a day full of playful
reminiscing between brothers.
Each of the graduates were put
on blast and remembered for
their time in the fraternity.
Rounding the corner to the
weekend, the chapter opened
the house and welcomed the
PDC (Continued on page 18)
PDC Public Relations Chair
Megan Shimada
Photo by Megan Shimada
Brothers Joanne Reeve, left, and Juliet Precissi, right, making orders for
fried asparagus.
PAGE 18 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
family and friends of the
graduates for a backyard
barbeque on the June 18.
Stomachs full and spirits
high, the celebration made its
way to Janet Leigh Theater,
w h e r e h e a r t f e l t
congratulations were made to
seniors in movie tribute. To
conclude the day, the Alpha
Psi Education, Scholarship &
Leadership Foundation
presented awards to three
outstanding graduates. The
awards were bestowed as
follows: The Rick Friedmann
Memorial Senior Achievement
Scholarship was presented to
brother Michael Conner for
his active involvement within
the school of pharmacy. The
MAX Scholarship was
presented to brother Frank
Sasaki for his academic
e x c e l l e n c e a n d h i s
involvement in the chapter
and community. Finally, the
Ivan W. Rowland Memorial
O u t s t a n d i n g S e n i o r
Scholarship was presented to
brother Jacob Taylor for his
outstanding service to the
Alpha Psi chapter.
We are fortunate to have
such amazing brothers as well
as an incredible alumni
foundation for support and
encouragement.
Pharmacy graduation on
the morning of May 19
marked the culmination of a
great week. In the audience –
flanked by flowers, presents,
and signs – we watched
proudly as our own 21
brothers walked the stage of
the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Graduates weren’t the
only ones taking monumental
steps towards a better future.
During the weekend of
June 9, brothers raised money
for the American Cancer
Society at their annual booth
at Stockton’s Relay for Life
event. Homemade lumpia and
ice cold otter-pops were a hot
commodity and the brothers
were happy to sell them. After
a full 24 hours of fundraising
and fun, the team had raised
over $2000!
As the heat of the
summer signals the end of
another school year, brothers
and newly transitioned
alumni continue to show
tremendous commitment and
support for the chapter. We
look forward to another great
year of achievement and
growth, and after our annual
summer Pismo retreat, the
brotherhood will be even
stronger than it has been.
PDC (Continued from page 17)
Some graduates of the Phi Delta Chi Alpha Psi Pharmacy Class of 2012. Photo by Erika Cho
PAGE 19 News Capsule VOLUME X, ISSUE IV
Spring Break: a chance for
pharmacy students to sit back,
breathe, and relax after another
crazy semester. But for nine
brothers of Rho Pi Phi, this was
no time to plop down on a couch
and watch some TV. This was a
chance to take pharmacy
beyond our national borders –
we took off for the faraway land
of Guatemala!
We traveled to the town of
Antigua, where we partnered
with the God’s Child Project (La
Asociación de Nuestros
Ahijados) to work with many
families and children in need.
This organization has many
ways of reaching out to the
surrounding communities,
including an elementary school,
a malnutrition clinic, food
distribution, women’s programs,
and much more.
RPP were able to join forces
with this group and participate
in many ways throughout the
week. We taught elementary
school classes about parts of the
body, helped build wheelchairs
at a factory that employed
disabled Guatemalans, brought
and sorted many medications to
support the on-site medical
clinic, and played with children
from a nearby orphanage.
One of the biggest problems
Guatemala faces today is
malnutrition. Many cannot
afford a healthy diet of fruits
and vegetables to provide them
with enough crucial vitamins
and minerals. Another issue is
patient education; many
parents simply see their babies
as little adults, so they feed
them little amounts of adult
food – things like coffee and
tortillas are common parts of
many babies’ diets. We visited
and volunteered at Casa
Jackson, a clinic that cares for
malnourished babies; it was a
stark reminder of just how
much medical care is needed in
other parts of the world.
It was very eye-opening for
many of us to see such poverty
up close for the first time. Yet
even in middle of such despair,
there was a sense of peace,
generosity, and selflessness
that surrounded the locals.
They were always friendly and
warm to us, welcoming us into
their homes. We did our best to
serve them throughout the
week in whatever ways we
could. We came to realize that
the field of pharmacy has a lot
to offer to the rest of the world,
and we hope that the steps we
took over our Spring Break
were the first of many more to
come.
Photo by Team Guatemala
Pharmacy Knows No Bounds
RPP Rope Links Reporter
Darrell Chan
Orange Army makes its presence known across the world!
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