Chelsea McDonnell

UConn School of Pharmacy, Class of 2017

I grew up in Vernon, CT, a town only twenty minutes away from Storrs campus. I am currently an undergraduate student in my second year of UConn’s pharmacy program.

As a member of UConn’s Honors Across State Borders, an organization dedicated to providing service to underserved populations over spring break, I’ve had the chance to travel to areas like Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA. While there, our group of 50+ UConn students had the chance to rebuild the homes of well-deserving families in impoverished areas of the country and hear their stories. Additionally, as an officer in Lambda Kappa Sigma, a professional pharmacy fraternity, I’ve had many experiences helping underserved populations closer to home.

I chose to go into healthcare because I wanted to be able to help people live healthier, happier lives. I believe that all populations deserve access to outstanding healthcare no matter their background, socioeconomic status, or location. Urban Service Track provides its scholars with unique serve learning opportunities to become better advocates for populations that face healthcare disparities and are much more vulnerable because of it. Helping community members on interprofessional teams is the best way to prepare us for the real-world situations we’ll be facing following graduation. As a UST scholar, I look forward to working with the other scholars to develop valuable healthcare skills and be able to provide high quality care to the patients who need it most.