Pratibha Dhakshinamurthy

UConn School of Pharmacy, Class of 2019

I grew up in Stratford, CT but recently moved to Fairfield, CT. Currently, I am an undergraduate in my second professional year in the UConn School of Pharmacy. I am also double majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology.

During my four years at UConn, I was a member of UConn’s Honors Across State Borders (HASB). HASB is an organization that teaches students about social issues that are prevalent in the US, and then takes 55 students on an alternative spring break to work towards alleviating the social issue affecting the area. This past year, I was a co-director for this program. My co-director and I took our students to Hartsville, SC to work with a local Habitat for Humanity. We also introduced the organization’s first ever Fall Trip to Worcester, MA where we spent the day helping with park maintenance. The social issue of environmental conservation was one HASB never focused on too much and we wanted to show our students the importance of free access to parks and trails that are often lost in urban areas. These areas provide fresh air and space and are key to promoting overall health and physical well-being in the community.

I joined UST to continue my passion for helping the underserved special populations live better, healthier lives. I am also looking forward to learning more about working with an interprofessional team. This summer, I started working as a pharmacy intern at Yale New Haven Hospital and I had the opportunity to go on rounds with an interprofessional team. It was a great experience seeing how everyone worked together to make sure the patient was receiving the best care during, as well as after their stay in the hospital. I hope my experiences with UST will help me use what I learned in the classroom out in the field to become an invaluable resource to my patients and to the other members of my team.