Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2019 - 3

G R A D UAT I O N 2 0 1 9

Erin Terrio's Legacy
of Determination
Lives On Through
Posthumous CU
Pharmacy Degree
BY SARA KNUTH

s the fall 2016 semester wrapped up, Erin
Terrio prepared for finals the same way
as any other student.
"She was in the middle of finals, and
she was doing all the crazy stuff you do
during finals week: staying up all night
and studying and studying," said her
sister and roommate, Jennifer Terrio, who is a student at the
University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine. "Until the
very last second, she was trying to get through all of her finals."

Terrio was halfway through her
second year with the Skaggs School
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences and almost done with finals
when she died of complications from
cystic fibrosis, a disease that causes
lung infections and makes it harder to
breathe because of thick, sticky mucus
that clogs the airways.
The school of pharmacy will
honor Terrio with a posthumous
PharmD degree at the 2019
commencement ceremony at the
University of Colorado Anschutz
Medical Campus. Her parents will
accept the degree on her behalf.
Beverly Brunson, the school's
director of student services, said
Terrio's determination to complete
her coursework as her condition
worsened is a major reason the
school decided to award her with a
posthumous degree. The rare honor
marks the first time the school has
awarded an honorary degree to a
student in the 25 years Brunson has
been with the campus.

Clockwise from top: Erin Terrio, center, is pictured with her family; Terrio wears high school graduation cap and gown; Adopted pet, Stella, keeps Terrio company; Terrio smiles with her sister, Jennifer,
left and mom, Heidi, right, after CU's White Coat Ceremony; Terrio smiles with her mom and sister after the ceremony. Photos provided by the family of Erin Terrio.

"She had this disease, and it didn't
stop her from pursuing her PharmD
- she still wanted it," Brunson said.
"Some people might just give up and
say, 'I'm sick and I can't do this.' She
really pursued this."
Jennifer Terrio remembers her
sister as determined, creative and
introverted. She practiced karate as
a child, played softball and golf and
designed her own T-shirts. She was
always on top of her studies, she said,
and when she decided she wanted to
do something, she did it.
Jennifer Terrio said her sister
wanted to study pharmacy likely
because she wanted to improve
people's lives through medicine in a
way that didn't put her own health at
risk. Because mucus clogs the airways
of people living with cystic fibrosis
and can trap bacteria, it's essential to
minimize contact with germs.
More than two years later, Terrio's
impact lives on at the Skaggs School
of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences. This year, a student who
has overcome a disease or illness will
be awarded a scholarship created
by Terrio's parents, James and Heidi
Terrio, as a way to honor their daughter.
Her impact was especially evident
at a memorial hosted on campus at the
Richard D. Krugman Conference Hall.
Cecilia Romero, program assistant
in the Office of Student Services, said
she remembers ordering 300 chairs
ahead of the ceremony. All of those
seats filled up quickly, she said, and
people ended up standing along the
walls to honor her.
"There were that many people,"
she said.
For her sister, her legacy will live
on in her own career. Jennifer Terrio
said her sister encouraged her to study
dentistry. As she wraps up her third
year at the school, she has her sights
set on becoming an orthodontist,
making her a doctor, like both of her
parents. A running joke in the family
was that all of the Terrios would, one
day, become doctors.
When their mom heard the news
that her daughter would receive a
PharmD degree, Jennifer Terrio said,
she told her this: "We really will all
be doctors."

www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

http://www.ucdenver.edu/pharmacy

Pharmacy Perspectives - Graduation 2019

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