Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2010 - 2

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Childhood shapes career choice

childhood spent in hospitals undergoing multiple surgeries to repair a congenital hip disorder (developmental dysplasia of the hip) helped Zanette Kanani choose a career in pharmacy. For Zanette, eight years of doctors’ appointments, summer surgeries, hospital stays and full body casts became a way of life. “It did not define me, but helped shape me. I am very aware of what it’s like to be on the patient side of the equation.” From the age of six, her summers were consumed with medical procedures. Poked and prodded until fifth grade, Zanette’s mother refused to let her condition become her world. “My mother’s first priority was always to let me be a kid. I skied, participated in gymnastics, and even sold lemonade to my friends and neighbors – albeit in my pj’s!” says Zanette.

She didn’t always know what she wanted to do, but knew what she liked. After receiving a bachelor of science degree in psychology from Santa Clara University, she taught elementary school for a while and even toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer. But after what she calls a “quarter-life crisis,” she analyzed her life and what she wanted to do with it. She thought about what she enjoyed and the courses she took as an undergrad. What she kept coming back to was one course – psycho pharmacology. After a little soul searching and research, she enrolled at San Jose State University to take care of her pharmacy prerequisites. Then applied and was accepted to the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy. Because of her experiences, Zanette has a unique outlook on life. “You can live your life in fear and dread, but you can’t change the hand you’re dealt. You have to get over it,” says Zanette. And get over it, she did. She has channeled her experience and passion into a career that helps children. After graduation, Dr. Kanani will be serving a PGY1 residency at the Children’s Hospital in Denver, hoping to specialize in pediatrics.

Coming to America
From war-torn Rwanda to the American dream
To listen to Freddy Kaniki, you’d never know how much he has lost and how far he’s come. In 1994, at the age of 18, he saw civil war break out in his homeland of Rwanda. Two years later, his father and three brothers were killed by Hutu militia. Touched by 100 days of mass killings and the aftermath of poverty and misery around him, he vowed to do something to make a difference. While in pharmacy school in Rwanda he came to the realization that he didn’t have the power or means to make a significant difference in the suffering of his fellow Rwandans, and resolved to move to America after obtaining his degree. “I couldn’t live there any longer and remain sane,” says Freddy. In 2002, he moved to Portland, Maine, with his wife and two children and tried to get licensed as a pharmacist. But not knowing any English proved a stumbling block. To pay the bills, he began working in a meat packing plant. During that time he met Colleen Hoffman,director of pharmacy operations

for the Maine Medical Center – a 600-bed teaching hospital – and asked her for a job. “I was willing to do anything to get into the pharmacy,” says Freddy. She gave him a job delivering medications to floors throughout the hospital. Within four months, Freddy was promoted to pharmacy technician and within three years he was fluent in English. In flawless English he says, “When you don’t have a choice, the brain learns faster.” For 18 months he studied, read books, converted his pharmacy knowledge from French into English, and in 2005 took the NAPLEX and passed. Even though he was a pharmacist, he knew that in order to advance and equip himself sufficiently to make a difference back in Rwanda he’d have to obtain his PharmD. So, in 2006 he applied to the nontraditional program and was accepted. For the last four years, he’s been diligently working and studying and in May he will be Dr. Kaniki. For Freddy that’s only part of his journey. Having never forgotten his painful past, he’s working on becoming an American citizen and finding a job that marries his education with his passion for humanitarianism. Cuong Truong Audrey Twit May Wong May 2010 Ahmed Agha Karen Brainard Patricia CarusoPrendergast Lalitha Chilakapati Janelle Crowley Todd Crowley Marci Daugherty Savminderjit Dhaliwall Linda Drudick Venita Harris Aji Idicula Mark Jacobs

Nontraditional Graduates December 2009 Mohamed Ali Kristie Arend Monica Bagga

Laura Bostwick Jennifer Burgess Brenda Chang Christinne Duclos Melissa Dutchak Jasjit Gill

Hina Marsonia Exie Robinson Ronald Selders, II Holly Spitzer Jennifer Taylor Fix Lona Thornhill

UC Denver School of Pharmacy

Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2010

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