Meeting and greeting virtually at Fall Networking Event

By Kara Sweet

Published December 1, 2020

The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy Student Association (SPSA) held its annual Fall Networking Event on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

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Over 100 first-year students attended this year’s Zoom event. Alumni, pharmacists and faculty visited virtual breakout rooms to discuss how they chose their different career paths and to offer advice to the PharmD Class of 2024.

Holding the event virtually presented some unique challenges to SPSA. “We had to watch many YouTube tutorials on how to separate a large group of people on Zoom into breakout rooms and have them pre-planned and ready to go,” says Anthony Gorynski, PharmD ’22, SPSA secretary.

Getting people to attend was also an initial concern—but that was quickly resolved. “This year I think everyone has had their fair share of Zoom meetings,” Gorynski says. “We are very grateful for all the pharmacists that participated and I am confident that this event was very meaningful to many of our students.”

Networking Event Speakers

Nicole Albanese, PharmD
 Clinical Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice
University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Courtney Cardinal, PharmD '17
Clinical Pharmacist
General Physician PC

Karl Fiebelkorn, BS '78, MBA '88
Senior Associate Dean for Student, Professional and Community Affairs
University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Amanda Foster, PharmD
Fellow, Pharmacy Practice
University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Steven Giroux, BS '81
President and CEO
Middleport Family Health Center

Troy Hoelzl, PharmD '18
Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, Endocrinology
State University of New York Upstate Medical University

Neal Johnson, BS '13, JD '18 & PharmD '19
Associate Attorney
Eagan & Heimer, PLLC

Rachael Luconte, PharmD '20
PGY1 Pharmacy Resident
VA of Western New York

Carolyn O'Donnell, PharmD
PGY1 Pharmacy Resident, New York State Office of Mental Health
Buffalo Psychiatric Center

William Prescott, PharmD '02
Clinical Professor and Chair, Pharmacy Practice
University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Brian Salvas, PharmD '11
Senior Director, Network Operations
CVS Health

Kelly Verrall, PharmD
Director, Pharmacy Quality and Medication Therapy Management
Independent Health

For over 130 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education (ACPE) and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 14 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.