Due to the pandemic, my first live Region 2 APhA–ASP Midyear Regional Meeting (MRM) as a student pharmacist was this year during the weekend of October 21–23 in Alexandria, VA. The keynote speaker for Friday night was Rafael Saenz, PharmD, APhA’s chief of staff, who used the term “yes–first” in his speech. Dr. Saenz spoke about the importance of saying “yes” in situations that may seem overwhelming or uncomfortable, but how imperative it is to be able to grow as a student, professional, and individual. This resonated with me throughout the weekend, especially since there were a lot of reasons that could have kept me from coming to MRM.

Of the opportunities available to APhA–ASP members of International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF), few are as grand as the international conferences. There are 2 major conferences organized by IPSF: the World Congress and the regional symposia. This summer, members of the APhA–ASP International Standing Committee (ISC) had the privilege of attending the World Congress in Egypt and the Pan American Regional Symposium (PARS) in Chile.

The University of Oklahoma Health Science Center College of Pharmacy has always had a strong emphasis on giving back to the community. However, during the pandemic, many of our annual events had to be put on hold due to the inability to have in-person events. Starting this year, my fellow co-chairs and I were dedicated to bringing back campus-wide philanthropic events that would help raise money for Make-A-Wish Oklahoma so that we could ultimately grant a wish to a child living with a critical illness.