THE FUTURE

Fellow Members of the Class of 2010,

Today, my friends, is May 15, 2009. One year from tonight, we will take a walk together across a stage in front of our family and friends and turn our focus toward the future. We will cease to be Pharmacy Students at the Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy and ascend to the status of Distinguished Alumni and Doctors of Pharmacy, and we will step into what I am sure will be an extremely diverse assortment of careers that will no doubt improve the quality of life of a great many patients. That sounds like a fairly heavy responsibility, and though I turned thirty years old this year, it still seems like a job for a more mature man, and I'm sure many of you feel the same way. Up to this point, we have been college students. Sure, many of you are graduates already and we are three quarters of the way through an advanced degree, but there is something that has to happen between now and the second Friday in May, 2010. We have to move past thinking about how many points we need to pass Therapeutics and start thinking about how we can be better at making out patients better. I think through all the exams and projects and deadlines, it is easy to lose focus. Every one of us said the words out loud in our first year that we would put the needs of our patients before our own. Now if you think that you are going to work for Rite Aid or Walmart, and that you will be little more than a fast food employee dispensing medicine instead of Happy Meals, and that changing a patient's life in a meaningful way or changing the face of healthcare in America is not going to ever even make it onto your radar, then listen up, because I am talking specifically to you. As we go into rotations, I challenge you to be more than that. I challenge you to be more than a college graduate making a good salary and having a low prescription error rate. I challenge you to take every rotation as an opportunity to learn a new way to help someone live longer and more fully when we graduate. I challenge you to make your 615 project be something that makes a difference and not just satisfy the minimum requirements. I challenge you to do more, and to be more. I challenge myself to the same things.

In three years, I have seen you all defy expectations and make a name for yourselves in a place that is already full of overachievers. You care about each other and about people you have never even met, and never hesitate to pour out support for those in need. You are competitive and strong and proud. With only one year to go, don't get jaded and just press on until graduation. Look back and be proud at what you have done, but look forward and take advantage of all the opportunities we have left to be more. Do what you have to do to be great. The Class of 2010 is special, and we can be great. But we can't slow down now. We have work to do, and it starts June 1st.

Congratulations on completing the classroom portion of your education. You have earned a few weeks of relaxation. My challenge to all of us is to come back on June 1 with a focus on making a real difference in the lives of our patients, and I'll be working hard toward that goal and I hope you will too.

I am very proud of you all, and thanks for a great year.

Sincerely,

Justin L. Vesser

President
Class of 2010