Westmont pharmacy student Emily Swayka wins prestigous scholarship

WESTMONT — A Westmont woman is one of six students from across the country to win a prestigious pharmacy scholarship to pay for her education as she prepares to graduate from pharmacy school next year.

Emily Swayka, a student of Roosevelt University's College of Pharmacy, has been selected for the Leonard J. DeMino Pharmacy Student Scholarship by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores Foundation after being nominated by the College of Pharmacy and a 20-member council.

"It's a big honor not only for me, but for the school as well," she said. "Because this is a new school I was not expecting to be chosen, so it really helps the school to have one of their students win this after only being open for two years."

Roosevelt's College of Pharmacy opened in 2011, and when Swayka graduates in 2014, she will be part of the first class to graduate from the one of the newest pharmacy programs in the country.

Scholarship winners are first nominated by their pharmacy school. Nominees then write an essay. In Swayka's case, she wrote about the future of pharmacy and patient care.

As part of her education, Swayka works as a pharmacy technician at CVS/Pharmacy in Glendale Heights. Recently she has been administering a lot of flu shots, as the flu epidemic this year has led people to seek help on ways that can protect themselves.

"One of the things that I tell patients that they may not know is that it takes 14 days for the flu vaccine to begin working once you get the shot," she said. "People will say, 'Well I got the shot, and a few days later I got sick,' because the vaccine hasn't begun working yet. Those are the kinds of things I can share with people when it comes to their health."

The profession runs in her family.

Her grandfather, George Katsaros, was the long-time owner and operator of Katsaros Pharmacy in Chicago before retiring.

"My grandfather was the one who really inspired me to take this journey," she said. "For so many years, he was able to help people, and now I hope to continue on with his work."

"As a pharmacist, you are the closest and most accessible healthcare professional for many people," Swayka said. "People can come to a pharmacist without an appointment, and ask us any questions they may have, and we can help in so many ways. That is what attracted me to the field."