Following in the footsteps of her mother, a registered nurse,
Michelle Pernice, 4th year student in St. John’s University’s
College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, is destined for
success in the healthcare industry.
Michelle grew up hearing stories about her mother’s experiences
as a nurse. Exposed to the ins and outs of the healthcare industry
at young age, Michelle knew she too would one day save lives.
“Always hearing these stories about the people my mother helped
inspired me to pursue a career in healthcare. I too want to help
people.”
Combining her love of the sciences with a growing interest in
the legal field, Michelle is taking a more non-traditional route
and plans to become a pharmaceutical lawyer. As a pre-law pharmacy
student, she is well on her way to accomplishing these goals.
“One of the many reasons why I love St. John’s is because the
deans and faculty are really supportive of their students. I am
pursuing something other than the stereotypical pharmaceutical
career and the deans have been 100 percent behind everything I have
done.”
Among others, Michelle is the winner of the 2009 Academic
Achievement Award, Lisa Carrera Memorial Award and recipient of the
Andrew J. Bartilucci Scholarship Award. Her many contributions to
the field of pharmacy never go unrecognized by the college.
“Robert A. Mangione, Ph.D., R.Ph. [Dean of the College of
Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions] knows me as a student and
knows that I have a passion for the field of pharmacy with immense
ambition for the future. His ability to identify and encourage his
students’ interests has made St. John’s an invaluable choice.”
Michelle is currently conducting research that she hopes will
uncover the reasons behind the high cost of medicine. Understanding
the causes, will help drug companies make the drug approval process
more effective and foster innovate ways to make medicine more
affordable for everyone.
“The faculty and staff have been extremely supportive of my
research and are there to help in any way they can. I’d recommend
St. John’s to any student who is interested in exploring career
goals that best suit their talents and abilities; this is extremely
important for me as a student with diverse goals.”