Danielle Wallace

I chose UK as an undergrad because I was offered the opportunity to play for a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Division I University who also had one of the top pharmacy programs in the country.

I played varsity volleyball for UK for four years with my last year overlapping with my first semester of pharmacy school. In undergrad it was fairly easy to manage volleyball and classes, but in pharmacy school it became much more difficult. I would have days where I would lift in the morning, attend class all day at the college, and then run to practice. It was not only an exhausting and overwhelming first semester, but it became very difficult for me to stay up with my work. Thankfully, I have great classmates and professors who are extremely supportive and helped me get through the semester. While this experience may have been challenging academically it is something I would do over again in a heartbeat.

Being in pharmacy school has opened my eyes to the pharmacy profession. Before coming to pharmacy school I assumed I would be molded into a community pharmacist. I was blind to the many career opportunities a Pharm.D. degree creates so I was surprised and excited to have classes that focused on the clinical side of pharmacy and other areas of potential practice.

On working in a pharmacy

My parents opened a Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in Port Charlotte, Florida on my 1st birthday, so you could say I literally grew up in pharmacy. My dad is a pharmacist with a specialty in compounding so I was fortunate to learn one of the more unique aspects of pharmacy. Before entering the Pharm.D. program, I worked in another local Medicine Shoppe and also volunteered a few times at Faith Pharmacy (a local Lexington pharmacy).

Volunteering in your community

Some of the best things about being an athlete at UK were the numerous opportunities I was given to volunteer and give back to the community. A lot of the service work I did in undergrad was related to sports and leadership or organizing other basic fundraising ventures. I have participated in Girl Scout volleyball clinics, given talks at the YMCA and at a local middle school, helped organize food drives, played Bingo with the kids at UK Children's Hospital, and assisted at Faith Pharmacy.

What do you love most about UK?

Since athletics has been such a huge part of my life here at UK I would have to say I love the Athletics Department. The commitment shown to the student-athletes by the athletics program has always focused on the 'student' part of student-athlete and it is in this that UK differs from so many other institutions.

Danielle's advice

Become a well-rounded individual. Having a perfect academic background isn't necessarily going to make you a great pharmacist, so I think it's important to be involved with extracurricular activities. Whether it's volunteering, playing a sport, having a job, or picking up some other hobby, it is usually in these activities that your character grows and you learn some lessons about life that books can't teach you.

Plans following graduation

I want to pursue residency training with eventual training in pediatrics with a possible focus in hematology/oncology.