Non-traditional student starts Pharm.D. journey

When she was 16, Sarah Kennedy lost her father to cancer. That personal setback derailed her hopes of going to college after high school. She thought she’d wait until she got married when it might be more affordable. Then the kids came, and raising a family took priority. In the meantime, she started a career as a pharmacy technician then later a dental assistant. However, Sarah was not one to let go of her hopes and dreams. Last month, at age 43, she entered the Pharm.D. program at the University of Kansas.

“You’re never too old to chase your dreams, but it’s a challenge,” admits the Newton native who now lives near her two adult children and two-year-old granddaughter in Derby. “Your brain just doesn’t work the same in your 40s. You absorb things differently. I came from the era of textbooks and paper. Learning everything [using an iPad] has been a challenge and an adjustment.”

Undaunted, she says it’s all worth it. Kennedy restarted her studies at Butler Community College where she “relearned math all over again. That was not fun,” she said, “but anybody can do it if you put your mind to it. I’ve been married and divorced. I’ve been a single mom for a long time. With my kids now adults, I wanted to do something for me, and I’m going to it! It’s never too late to start and never too late to finish.”

“Sarah represents a clear example of a lifelong learner,” said KU School of Pharmacy Dean David Dietz who met Sarah at her white coat ceremony in Wichita. “She’s taking advantage of an opportunity—one that we need to encourage more non-traditional students to pursue and to support them by providing an environment that’s conducive to success.”

Kennedy says the KU Pharmacy faculty and her fellow students have been “truly encouraging.” Sometimes self-doubt creeps in, but despite a scary first week of testing, she says she was buoyed by everyone saying, “you can do this, and we’re going to help you succeed.”

Her biggest stressor has been the financial part of school. “FAFSA is your best friend. They tell  you yay or nay, if they can help you out or where to look for an outside source.” She was also privileged to get a little help from her mom who co-signed on a loan.

“I’m trying to find a balance between studying 40 plus hours a week and considering an internship. Studying is a full-time job and they don’t recommend working more than 10 hours a week. It does put a little stress on your budget.”

Kennedy takes some comfort in knowing that “you pay a lot to learn a lot. In a pharmacy career you get paid well for your knowledge, so I think it’s truly worth the sacrifice I’m going to make for a few years.”

When Kennedy served as a pharmacy tech, she was inspired by the pharmacists who took such care to get medications just right for their patients. She was impressed by their knowledge vault and how they applied it to their practice of pharmacy and helping patients. She also saw their grit and perseverance. One was Ella Hamilton. Now retired, she was also a single mom who raised her kids and continued working in pharmacy in a neonatal intensive care unit.

“She inspired me to want to do more,” said Kennedy. “I worked with a lot of great pharmacists in both retail and hospital pharmacy who made me realize you can do more regardless of your situation.”

And doing more is exactly what she has in mind—for many more years. “I come from a family of very long-term workers,” Kennedy says proudly. “My grandpa stopped working when he was 95 and my mom just retired at 75. I want to keep going because pharmacy is ever changing, and there’s always something else coming along that could help more people.”