Alen Joseph

UConn School of Pharmacy

I was born in Kottayam, Kerala, in India. In 2003, when I was two months old, my family—my parents, my twin brother, and I—moved to the United States. In our first three years, we lived in New York and in Connecticut, in towns such as New Britain and Newington. In 2006, we moved to Farmington, CT, where I grew up and still live. I plan to earn a B.S. degree in pharmacy studies in 2025 and a PharmD degree in 2027.

One notable volunteer experience, through an event hosted by the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy (SCCP), gave me the chance to provide vaccinations at the Coventry Soup Kitchen to individuals living with poor social determinants of health. It was an eye-opening experience. I was able to practice both clinically relevant skills, like proper immunization technique, and persuasive public speaking skills and advocacy. Through discussions with those who do not trust vaccines, I was perhaps able to change a few people’s mindsets on how to best protect themselves and their community from illness.

I chose to be a part of Urban Service Track because of the opportunities it provides me to grow into a stronger pharmacist. I have heard that working in an urban environment is challenging, and consequently, it requires strength and resiliency to make a clinic successful. I want to be able to demonstrate leadership in pharmacy, and UST provides me with the platform to do so. It is my understanding that leadership can come through organizing the clinic and through the interdisciplinary work that we will do in our healthcare teams. I want to demonstrate the value of the pharmacy profession to the students of other healthcare professions. The long-term impact that this program could have on healthcare in urban communities makes it worthwhile to be a UST Scholar.