Dr. Pantano's biology blues turned pharmacist by Genevieve

Dr. Pantano's biology blues turned pharmacist by Genevieve - March 2013 Scholarship Essay

     I am proud to say in May I will be graduating from pharmacy school.  I have had several mentors who have helped me get to this point; however, there is one person in particular that helped guide me to where I am today.  Her name was Dr. Pantano, my freshman high school biology teacher.  At the time, biology was the last subject I wanted to listen to every day, and I think the majority of my classmates would have agreed.  Nevertheless, being extremely brilliant and enduring our eclectic group of students with endless patience, Dr. Pantano turned every 45 minute class into a wonderful adventure.  Even the least motivated of our group looked forward to the next mind-blowing topic Dr. Pantano would discuss each day.  She had a special way of making the most complex concept seem as easy as riding a bike.  She made plasma membranes, lipids, and DNA, seem as simple as two times two equals four. 
     Teamwork and communication were life lessons she taught us, as well.  I was a quiet, shy student who was focused and a hard worker.  On the other hand my lab partner, Mike, was the class clown who never had a problem speaking up, but did have trouble following directions.  Within a week, Dr. Pantano knew we would make the perfect match.  Mike made every lab period enjoyable, but teased me constantly to make me speak up.  Eventually his goal (and Dr. Pantano) was accomplished.  Through Dr. Pantano’s encouragement and Mike’s bantering my confidence had rose so much I created and led a study group with my classmates by the second half of the year.  In return, I helped Mike pass biology with a B+.  Our class as a whole became a family.  At the end of the year Dr. Pantano took me aside and asked what I wanted to do when I grew up.  I told her I have no idea but I am starting to really like biology.  She then said that I really had a gift for science and to consider taking her Advanced Placement (AP) biology class.  Two years later I took her up on her offer.  Her AP class was intense and probably the hardest class I took in high school, but it was worth it.  I loved it! 
     In college I explored other subjects, but no matter how much I veered away I always enjoyed my science-related classes the most.  I even considered becoming a high school biology teacher.  The first person I called when I made this decision was Dr. Pantano for advice.  She gave me a few words of wisdom and invited me to student-teach for her biology classes.  It was a great experience, but in the end teaching was not for me.  Nonetheless, she encouraged me to try a different avenue that in science.  In my third year of undergraduate college, I decided to apply to pharmacy school.  The rest is history.  I still keep in touch with Dr. Pantano, Mike, and many of my other classmates from freshman biology.  Each person helped shape me academically and personally, but I will forever be indebted to Dr. Pantano’s faith in me and the mentorship she provided throughout my high school years and beyond.  If it was not for the experiences I was given eight years ago in her class and thereafter, I might not be where I am today.