Roosevelt University pharmacy student Dianne Goyco won the 2020 Excellence in Public Health Pharmacy Award for her extensive community outreach work. The U.S. Public Health Service awards the recognition each year to pharmacy students who promote public health and wellness in their communities.
Last year, Goyco served as the patient care vice president of the APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) Roosevelt chapter. When she took the position, Goyco didn’t know what to expect — certainly not a global pandemic.
Today Goyco is in her final year of Roosevelt’s three-year PharmD program. As a future pharmacist, she says, she’s eager to get involved with public health so she can help others prevent diseases and improve their quality of life.
“During the first term of pharmacy school, we make a promise while delivering the Oath of a Pharmacist to devote ourselves to a lifetime of service and to consider the welfare of humanity,” said Goyco. “From a young age, I have been passionate about helping others.”
Through APhA-ASP, Goyco led patient care programs on diabetes, heart health, immunization and women’s health. Every weekend in March, students partnered with a Mariano’s pharmacist to lead point-of-care testing for lipids and glucose levels.
Goyco also helped one of the APhA-ASP chairs organize a Latino community outreach program at El Mercadito. Goyco is from Ponce, Puerto Rico, and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus. With Spanish-speaking students acting as translators, she and her fellow pharmacy students taught the community on salt intake and shared a heart-healthy recipe for pozole.
“I appreciate being recognized for the work I did,” she said. “I am happy that I was able to provide many patient care project opportunities for our members, and that they were able to practice techniques that we are learning in school.”
Goyco advises future pharmacy students to get involved in organizations in order to practice what they learn.
“I have to thank my advisors, Dr. Cara Brock and Dr. Laura Licari, who helped me every step of the way,” she added. “Nothing would have been possible without them.”
ABOUT THE PHARMACY PROGRAM
Roosevelt University offers the only three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program in Illinois, allowing our students to graduate a year sooner than other institutions. Since our founding in 2009, we've taken a rigorous, patient-centered approach to teaching, and our expert faculty brings years of real-world experience. Learn more at roosevelt.edu/pharmacy.