President- Elect

1. Melanie Hawn

I want to continue to be involved with APhA and in an even bigger role. I’ve never really ran for such a big role before and I believe pharmacy school has taught me to come out of my shell; I would like the opportunity to share this with the rest of the school. I also think this position would allow me to get to know more students as well as faculty within the school. This position would allow me to share my current leadership capabilities, while at the same time continue to grow as a leader. Within pharmacy school thus far I’ve been involved in Operation Heart with ‘Healthy Heart is the Way to Start’ and fundraising for the Peyton Walker Foundation. I also attended the fall leadership retreat and got to help prepare a table for Rock the Block. I’m also a member of LKS. Outside of pharmacy school, I’m involved with Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority. Besides things I’m involved in, I love to go kayaking and hiking. I also enjoy reading, scrapbooking, and spending time with my family and friends.

2. Steve Moretti

Hello everyone, my name is Steve Moretti and I am running for president elect of APhA. The reason I am running for president of APhA is that I feel very strongly about the extreme value this organization brings to our pharmacy education. I am currently working as an intern at Giant Eagle Pharmacy, which has allowed me to gain experience on how pharmacists and student pharmacists can have a positive influence on a community. If elected as president, I would bring this pharmacy related experience along with leadership experiences gained from working as a lifeguard manager, lifeguard course instructor and academic resource center tutor. These roles have allowed me to gain presentational skills along with the opportunity to work with groups of college students in a leadership role. If I am given the opportunity to serve as APhA president elect, I would work my hardest to collaborate with everyone to make Pitt’s chapter of APhA the best it can be for our class and classes in the future.

3. Katelyn Rudzick

My name is Katelyn Rudzik and I want to be your next APhA President-Elect because I want to be more involved in both APhA and pharmacy school in general. As the primary organization within the school, I feel that APhA is the best way to become more involved in all the other pharmacy organizations as well as with students and faculty. I believe I am qualified to be President-Elect because I’m highly organized, have a strong work ethic, have leadership experience, and work well with others. This past year, I was a member of my service sorority’s service committee. As a part of this committee, I led multiple small service projects and worked together with other members of the committee to plan larger philanthropy events, allowing me to develop the appropriate leadership and communication skills that are a necessary requirement of a President-Elect. I am currently involved in APhA through Generation Rx. Through Generation Rx, I have attended many of their lecture series and have helped generate a flyer for their Turn the Tide Rx initiative as well as plan to table for it. Additionally, I am involved in pharmacy school with SSHP, LKS, and PPA. With PPA, I attended their Midyear Conference and presented a poster. As President-Elect, I would work to create a more cohesive executive board as well as connect members with the board to remove any disconnect between the two. I look forward to obtaining feedback from the members of APhA so that everyone can reap the benefits of this organization.  As your President-elect, I would foster open communication and help to implement changes that the organization wanted.

Policy VP-Elect

1. Abby Kois

My name is Abby Kois, and I am currently the P1 liaison for PPA and I am interested in running for the Policy VP-Elect for APhA-ASP. I have always had an interest in politics, and I pursued a minor in American Politics during my two years of undergraduate studies. I believe that by actively participating in the legislative process, we are able to contribute not only as citizens, but also as members of the pharmacy profession. If I am elected, I will work to inform fellow students about the new legislation proposed, as well as keep everyone updated with changes in policy that could affect them not only as future pharmacists, but also as students. I hope to increase my class’s participation in PPA through legislative day and exposure to policies that will affect them in their career. I know that a lot of people are not drawn to legislation and view it as dry, but I plan on making my policy updates interesting, simple to understand, and show how it can affect us as pharmacists. We all know that healthcare legislation is at a crossroads right now, so staying up to date with all of the current legislation will be critical. I plan to encourage intraprofessional networking for my classmates through state-wide meetings and local events of PPA and affiliated organizations. I am excited to be considered for this position, and I believe that my experience through the time I have spent as an active member of PPA will translate to this position.

2. Kiana Green

My name is Kiana Green and I am a current P1 student. I am interested in running for the Policy Vice President Elect position within our APhA-ASP chapter. The position of Policy Vice President Elect draws my interest because I believe that being aware of pharmacy federal and state legislation is very important and is always going to be relevant in our careers. One of my strengths is that I am able to read and take in information and boil that down into the most important points. Using this to summarize new and existing legislation will make relaying the most important and pertinent information to APhA-ASP e-board and members efficient and as painless as possible. If I am elected for this position, I would love to implement some new ideas in order to make this position a little more prevalent in our chapter. I would like to hold a “pizza and policy” meeting, where we order pizza and go over policy and legislation in a fun manner. I would also like to organize a chapter policy folder online, where APhA-ASP members can easily access the policy if they ever find themselves in need of referencing it. Further, I would also like to make PPA a bigger part of APhA-ASP by taking steps to promote it more in our school. I would like to make projects IPPE approved so that members can get some extra IPPE hours, as well as have guest speakers come and talk to us who play an important role in PPA.

Interprofessional VP

1. Erika LeBakken

I am a second year pharmacy student with a Bachelors in Physics and currently a Class Representative for the Class of 2019. For the past 1 1/2 years, I have been heavily involved in the interprofessional organizations at Pitt. I worked alongside Stephanie (P4) last year in the interprofessional committee to help organize and participate in different events such as a scavenger hunt and social mixers. This year I have worked closely with Linda (P3) to participate in the Healthcare Simulation and wrote a case for the event. I also currently serve as a core leader for Primary Care Progress (PCP@Pitt) which is an organization created by medical students to raise awareness of interprofessionalism in primary care. The core leadership includes a pharmacy student, medical student, dental student, PT student, and nursing student. Through this organization I have organized social mixers, case conferences, workshops, and have many ideas for the future! I also attended the PCP National Leadership Summit in August 2016 to gain leadership skills in an interprofessional environment and serve as a primary contact for our national coach. I am currently one of the interprofessional committee leaders for the Script Your Future Campaign and have had great success in contacting other schools to assist us in the competition. As you can see, I spend much of my time collaborating with other professionals as it is a true passion of mine to be able to work together as an interprofessional team.

2. Nicole Farah

Hi! I’m Nicole Farah, a P1. During my time at Pitt, I have been involved in RxPrep, Arabic club, intramural sports, OCF (the Orthodox Christian Fellowship), and I have most recently joined APhA-ASP, SSHP and Kappa Psi. I enjoy reading (HP for life), playing volleyball, and trying different cultural foods. Thai food is my all-time favorite; Nicky’s Thai Kitchen is my home away from home. I am 100% Lebanese and very proud of it. I am not afraid of hard-work, especially when I’m passionate about the subject.  Lastly, heading the advice of my fellow KY Brother Dylan Atkinson, current APhA-ASP Speaker of the House, I am interested in becoming more involved in the School of Pharmacy to get the most out of our educational experience.

International VP

1. Domenick Francis

My name is Domenick Francis and I am a P1. I played the sousaphone in the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band for three years, but stopped to focus on pharmacy. I am also in PDC. I had some trouble balancing band with extracurricular activities last semester and would like to get more involved with organizations this semester onward. I would like to go into either research or hospital pharmacy but I am keeping an open mind and exploring each career pathway during my education here. I also have a huge interest in international affairs and global health and aim to live abroad one day. I’ve always had an interest in international affairs, I was president of the Model United Nations club in high school and would love to be able to continue this passion. I am interested in applying the science of pharmacy around the world and intend to live abroad after graduation. I want to get involved and help other students get involved in exchanges and help promote global health. I also am involved in social media a lot and would have no problem running the instagram account.

2. Niha Idrees

I am running for the position of International VP because I am interested in looking at pharmacy on a global and international level. It is important for us as future pharmacists to be aware of health issues affecting the U.S. as well as the rest of the world, which is why organizing global health initiatives interests me. I currently hold the position of SEP chair in the IPSF committee of APhA-ASP, with the responsibility of helping my peers through the application process for the Student Exchange Program. Holding this position qualifies me to work alongside next year’s SEP chair in order to further facilitate the application process. Outside of APhA, I was Rush Chair for Kappa Psi last year and am currently working on an OTC tabling project for SCCP.