Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2018 - 8

Graduation :

Rapping His Way Through
the Curriculum

ee Amaya, stage name SouLeePharmD, is our very own rapping pharmacist.
Amaya fell in love with rap music and poetry during high school.
"I became infatuated with the flow and rhyme schemes of songs
while listening to my favorite artists. The raw passion displayed
and the topics they rapped about resonated with me," says Amaya.
Inspired, he began writing and producing his own rap music
that he shared over the Internet. "Rap provided me with an outlet
to voice my grief and frustrations with the world. Being a science

Lee Amaya, aka SouLeePharmD, strikes a pose in front of CU Pharmacy.

BUCKET LIST
8

or most of us, our bucket list dreams do
not include dancing for an NFL team
in front of thousands of fans. But for
Maya Robinson it did.
As a member of the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and
Blue Dancers - the only co-ed hip hop dance team
in the NFL - Robinson got to show off her moves to
hometown fans. "Dancing for one season in front

CU Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

nerd, this allowed me to express a side of me that
I rarely revealed."
One of his first live performances was in front of his
entire high school. "No pressure there!" says Amaya.
The performance was part of a Senior Project that
was required to graduate. Consisting of an internship,
mentorship, faculty-run seminar or independent
project of the student's design, the project is quite the
undertaking. Instead of the usual fare, Amaya asked if
he could compose a rap album and the school agreed
- of course with the oversight of his honors English
teacher. Most would choose creating and producing
one song in five weeks, but Amaya chose an album!
Then, he selected one song to perform at a schoolwide assembly. That project solidified his interest in
the art form and he's been writing, performing and
producing ever since.
"Because my time was extremely limited during
pharmacy school, I didn't have a lot of time to be
creative and write raps during the program," says
Amaya. He did, however, write and record one rap
during his fourth year for a reflection project. The
song, which highlights his experiences as a pharmacy
student, is the basis for a music video being developed
by the school.
Future goals for Amaya include creating educational raps about pharmacy-related topics in a similar fashion to ZDoggMD, who raps about medical
issues and conditions and releases them to the public
through social media.
"I would love nothing more than to be able to
combine my musical talents with my pharmacy
knowledge by writing songs about various healthcare topics to educate those who learn in an auditory
manner," says Amaya.
In the meantime, Amaya has lined up a PGY-1
residency at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, which
is sure to consume a lot of his time. "Once I'm finished with residency and have more free time on my
hands, I will definitely try to become the rapping
pharmacist!"
Mic drop.

of 80,000 fans at every home game is an amazing
experience," recalls Robinson.
However, dancing was a dream to aspire, not
her vocation.
From a young age, Robinson knew her passion
was pharmacy. "I've been a science geek since I
was a little girl, and have been fascinated by how
drugs work in our bodies," says Robinson.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2018