Preparing for a Career in Pharmacy: Korie Maryo

Despite her positive, can-do demeanor, it was actually a grim diagnosis that guided Korie Maryo to a career in pharmacy.

The third-year Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Pharmacy student recalls how important pharmacists were on her brother’s care team when he was diagnosed with brain lymphoma as a freshman in high school.

At the time, family-oriented Maryo was a junior in high school and spent day after day in the hospital by her brother’s side.

“The pharmacists always seemed to care and made time to make sure he knew everything, how the medications work, how they would make him feel, what was going to help, what might not be so great to take, what they knew he had to take it just to make it better and so on. Having the opportunity to see firsthand how pharmacists can play a pretty big role in a patient’s life was pretty neat,” says Maryo.

Ever since, Maryo has been determined to become a pharmacist herself.

Getting involved

As a third-year student, she has immersed herself in all things pharmacy — from participating in NEOMED and state organizations to conducting research and working as an intern at a local pharmacy.

Maryo serves as the president of the NEOMED American Pharmacists Association student chapter, which has also provided her with the opportunity to serve as a student trustee for the Ohio Pharmacists Association — two organizations of which she is proud to be a part.

Her first memories of OPA include attending its annual conference as a first-year pharmacy student, being able to network with pharmacists from across the state, and attending OPA’s Student Legislative Day.

As an OPA student trustee, Maryo travels to the organization’s headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, every three months to take part in its board of trustees meeting. “I have the opportunity to discuss recent issues regarding provider status for pharmacists, which is a topic that affects a lot of people’s careers. Being able to prescribe some medications opens up new responsibilities for people in our profession.  It’s not your typical daily things you would think of pharmacists doing, but it’s really interesting,” she says.

An upcoming opportunity

Maryo has enjoyed working with OPA so much that she applied for and was granted an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotation with the Association in February 2021.

During the rotation, Maryo will spend the month in Columbus working with Amy Bennett, R.Ph., assistant executive director of OPA, on projects like OPA’s Student Legislative Day. As she finishes her third year of pharmacy school and prepares to begin APPE rotations next year, Maryo has one piece of advice for students early in their career.

“Step out and try to be more involved as students. Find what you’re interested in and get as much experience as you can.”