UI College of Pharmacy student pharmacists and staff hosted 16 West Branch Middle School students for a hand cream lab on Jan. 7. The event, organized by Richard Barajas, UI College of Pharmacy Director of Admissions, was part of the College of Education’s Project HOPE (Healthcare Occupations Preparation and Exploration) Program. Project HOPE is a STEM-based curricular intervention that integrates academic and vocational opportunities designed to connect minority and low socioeconomic middle school students to the health science professions early in their education. 

Many PharmD students assisted with the event, including:
Vilasatry Chanthinouvong 
Jinny Guo 
Giang Ho 
Marshall Johnson 
Chase Kooyman
Nathan Okioga 
Ngoc Pham 
David Quach 
Laura Steinauer

​The event was a unique opportunity for PharmD students to educate young students about the pharmacy profession. According to Barajas, “Project Hope is a great way to introduce the Pharmacy profession to young students who are only starting to think of potential careers. Additionally this is a great way for our students to give back to the community and tell younger students what inspired them to become pharmacists.”

The college will offer two additional Project HOPE events on March 3 and May 12.