Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2015 - (Page 4)

WINTER/SPRING A LT ER EGOS CAKE BOSS H ave you ever watched those baking shows on the Food Network? From the Ace of Cakes to Cake Boss, the displays of creativity are amazing. School of Pharmacy staff member Becky Stricker could give those bakers a run for their money. "It's not so much about the cake as it's about the creativity. I do it mostly for the decorating," says Becky who got a taste for cake about 10 years ago when a MATCHES MADE IN HEAVEN A ssociate Professor Sheryl Vondracek, PharmD, is just one of the members of the CU Pharmacy family to have adopted children from Asia. Here at the School of Pharmacy, we have one faculty and two staff members who have adopted babies from Asia, including Dana Brandorff and Theresa Woelk. Dr. Vondracek and her husband adopted their first child, Alena Jiangwei, from China when she was just nine months old in March of 2008. Two 4 years later, they brought home their second child, Joshua Choikang, from South Korea in June of 2010. Being the parent of adopted children is no different from being the parent to biological children in Vondracek's eyes. "The only thing that is different when you are parenting adopted children from other countries is that there is a layer of richness added to your lives. Having access to another culture is rewarding and we love embracing that." In order to keep their children connected to their respective heritages, Vondracek and her husband send their daughter to Chinese School on Saturdays and they attend Chinese Heritage Camp every summer. Joshua, her youngest child, is only five years old and still too young to attend Korean School, but when the time comes, Vondracek will send him so he can learn the language and feel more connected to his culture. "It's important that they be exposed to their native languages and culture. We also want them to be able to interact with children like them." The adoption process was lengthy and oftentimes difficult for the family. It took almost three years to finalize the adoption of Alena and nine months to receive Joshua. Even though Alena's adoption took almost four times as long as Joshua's adoption, Joshua's adoption was more challenging for the family. "It took almost three years before we were matched with Alena, but once we were matched, we brought her home immediately." With Joshua, the match was made weeks into the process, but the Vondraceks waited eight months before they could bring him home. They were receiving photos and videos of Joshua going through major milestones and missing out on those experiences was heartbreaking. Despite the challenges of the adoption process, Vondracek could not be any happier with her children and her decision to adopt. "I can't imagine loving biological children more than I love these kids. They are wonderful and I love them more than anything." CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences friend invited her to her bakery to see how they do it. "A group of us went and she showed us how to make flowers." No longer are cakes only to be eaten; they are to be ogled as creative and engineering masterpieces. From fondant to frosting, the towering spectacles are amazing. Becky keeps it a little simpler, however, and has crafted guitars, flower gardens and character cakes including Elmo for family and friends. Her latest creation was a pink zebra cake for pharmacy school colleague Lisa Trujillo. "I have the patience to do it and I find it kind of challenging." She takes her cues from her friends who make special requests. Then, she goes online and begins the research process and gathers examples of cakes she thinks might work. She tweaks, combines and adds her own unique twist and voilà a cake is born. BENTON WESTERGAARD Ben is a Program Administrator for Continuing Education and has worked at the University of Colorado for three years, but what you might not know about Ben is that he is an avid cyclist. In college, he rode for the University of Colorado cycling team and is still a committed road cyclist. Currently, Ben rides for Rocky Mountain Road Club and still occasionally competes in amateur races here in Colorado. Mostly, though, his rides are less about training and more about enjoying time in the great outdoors. In fact, last summer he cycled his way through Switzerland and Italy.

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Pharmacy Perspectives - Winter/Spring 2015