Guiding the Next Generation of Pharmacists: Mariah Mrofchak

If you asked Mariah Mrofchak in fourth grade what she wanted to be, she would have told you a doctor, pharmacist and an accountant. As she grew older, Mrofchak ruled out accounting and was left to choose between medicine and pharmacy. Over time, she realized her end goal was pharmacy.

“Pharmacy is an evolving profession where you’re in the forefront of change. You get to see everything that’s happening and make those changes a lot faster. As a pharmacist, you often see patients more than primary care physicians, so being able to have more of that patient interaction and be more involved is what led me to pharmacy more than anything,” says Mrofchak, now a rising second-year Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy student.

She credits NEOMED’s faculty, staff and upperclassmen students for helping during her first year of pharmacy school. It was difficult and even a little stressful at times, but the support she received also made it enjoyable, says Mrofchak.

“I think a lot of my successes this past year had to do with NEOMED’s professors and staff. They made got all the help that we needed, including tutoring and academic services. That’s what inspired me to want be a tutor and mentor this upcoming year — I want people to have the kind of year that I had,” says Mrofchak.

Cheering others on

Mrofchak guided high school students who attended the College’s Pathways to Pharmacy program this summer. She also will continue to serves as an Early Assurance Program mentor, paired up with an aspiring NEOMED pharmacy student who is now entering his second year at Youngstown State University. “He just passed Organic-Chemistry and he did very well. I’m really proud of him! I’m there to help if he needs anything at his undergrad university and I check in on him about once a semester to make sure everything’s going well,” explains Mrofchak.

Honoring Mrofchak’s achievements, her peers selected her as a student coater for the College of Pharmacy Class of 2023 White Coat Ceremony, an honor she will carry out Friday, August 2.

Finding balance

When you add in all of her extracurricular activities, on top of a pharmacy internship at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, things can get hectic — but with time management advice and support from NEOMED, anything is possible for Mrofchak.

“NEOMED is so passionate about guiding you as to where you want to go. It was shocking coming here my first year and realizing how much they care about where I’m going to go in the future. If you want people who really do care about you and make sure that you get to where you want to go, then NEOMED is definitely the place to go,” she says.

Mentoring, tutoring and guiding are Mrofchak’s ways of giving back and she couldn’t be more excited to welcome the next cohort of students to the place that’s become her second home.