College of Pharmacy Celebrates 35 Students in Match Day Ceremony
| The College of Pharmacy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) recognized 35 students who will continue their education in postgraduate residencies and graduate programs.
Twenty-four students will head to first-year residency programs (PGY1), 10 will continue their residencies in second-year programs (PGY2) and one will begin a Ph.D. program.
“This year, the College of Pharmacy had its highest number of students to participate in the match process for residencies,” said Megan Smith, Pharm.D., assistant professor and chair of the postgraduate training and opportunities committee, during the April 27 virtual ceremony.
Students are matched based on a series of rankings amongst candidates and the programs, which are selected after application and interview processes. Smith said there were 7,321 applicants nationwide, and only 67% of them were matched with a postgraduate opportunity.
The 34 COP students were matched with competitive programs across 14 states, including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Jason Engstrom shares his postgraduate match with faculty and fellow classmates.
“I’m excited that I don’t have to transplant my entire family. We love it here, so we’re pretty happy about it,” said Jason Engstrom, a graduating fourth-year student. Engstrom will start his PGY1 in Fayetteville at Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks.
In her address to the students, Amy Franks, Pharm.D., associate professor, noted the increase in postgraduate opportunities in Arkansas since she graduated from the college in 2001.
“To my knowledge, at that time there were two residency programs in Arkansas, and between those two programs, there were about seven slots for residents,” said Franks, also the chair of the college’s Department of Pharmacy Practice.
Department Chair of Pharmacy Practice and associate professor Amy Franks, Pharm.D., delivers the keynote address.
“Now, fast forward 20 years, there are about 28 different programs or sites with over 50 positions. We’ve grown incredibly in our postgraduate opportunities and that doesn’t even touch our graduate school opportunities,” she said.
This year, 13 students will begin programs throughout the state in Augusta, Batesville, Fayetteville, Little Rock, North Little Rock and Rogers. Five will remain at UAMS.
As educational and health care opportunities have expanded for pharmacy school graduates, Franks encouraged students to take more chances and step outside of their comfort zones to reach their fullest potential while pursuing their passions.
“You’re all high achievers, so I don’t think failure is really something that you fear, but what you might fear is not being ready or not being good enough. But what if we didn’t worry about that,” she said. “Don’t be safe. Look for the opportunities that challenge and stretch you.”
The graduating students and postgraduates will specialize in a variety of areas, including ambulatory care, emergency medicine, pediatrics, solid organ transplant, infectious diseases, critical care, and pharmaceutical evaluation and policy.
| Name | Program | City | State | Program Type |
| Pranav Amin | ARcare | Augusta | Ark. | PGY2 |
| Cheyenne Beene | UW Health-Swedish American | Rockford | Ill. | PGY2 |
| Rima Bhakta | Erlanger Health System | Chattanooga | Tenn. | PGY1 |
| Hannah Black | Baptist Memorial Hospital North Mississippi | Oxford | Miss. | PGY1 |
| Katelynn Callaway | Baptist Health Medical Center -North Little Rock | North Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Caylin Carson | Baylor S&W McLane Children’s Medical Center | Temple | Texas | PGY1 |
| Brent Curry | Arkansas Children’s | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY2 |
| Jacqueline Dodwell | Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Med./Rocky Mountain Hospital | Denver | Colo. | PGY1 |
| Jason Engstrom | Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks | Fayetteville | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Halley Green | Virginia Hospital Center | Arlington | Va. | PGY1 |
| Hayley Harrington | UAMS Medical Center | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Catherine Jensen | Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Healthcare System | Tucson | Ariz. | PGY1 |
| Marissa Johnston | Wadley Regional Medical Center | Texarkana | Texas | PGY1 |
| Allison Jolley | Johnson City Medical Center | Johnson City | Tenn. | PGY1 |
| Ruston Koonce | UAMS | Little Rock | Ark. | Ph.D. |
| Sarah Kuhn | CHI St. Vincent Infirmary | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Joshua Lowery | Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center | Santa Fe | N.M. | PGY1 |
| Ryan Marks | VCU Health System | Richmond | Va. | PGY1 |
| Emma Matherne | Cleveland Clinic Children’s | Cleveland | Ohio | PGY2 |
| Ian McVinney | Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis | Memphis | Tenn. | PGY1 |
| Emily Morgan | Rush University Medical Center | Chicago | Ill. | PGY2 |
| Gabriella Nepomuceno | Presbyterian Healthcare Services | Albuquerque | N.M. | PGY1 |
| Juliana Oguh | White River Medical Center | Batesville | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Clinton Peter | Valleywise Health | Phoenix | Ariz. | PGY2 |
| Haodi Ruan | Atlanta VA Health Care System | Decatur | Ga. | PGY1 |
| Kayla Schapp | Providence St. Patrick Hospital | Missoula | Mont. | PGY1 |
| Evan Stoll | Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas | Rogers | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Aliyah Strong | UAMS – College of Pharmacy | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Sarah Talley | Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center | Winston-Salem | N.C. | PGY2 |
| Mary Thannisch | Inova Fairfax Medical Campus | Falls Church | Va. | PGY2 |
| Mary Tucker | Children’s Medical Center Dallas | Dallas | Texas | PGY2 |
| John Wagner | UAMS – College of Pharmacy | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY2 |
| Kaylee Wilcox | UAMS – College of Pharmacy | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |
| Tiffany Withrow | CHI Health St. Elizabeth | Lincoln | Neb. | PGY1 |
| Mariya Yemets | Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock | Little Rock | Ark. | PGY1 |