Hailey Button ’20
Managed Care Clinical Pharmacist
Hailey Button’s interest in population health led her to explore careers in pharmacy. She appreciated working in the community and hospitals, but she felt this was limiting in some ways. “I could only touch so many lives per day.” Now, she works as a clinical pharmacist in the field of managed care. “This is considered a non-traditional career path for a pharmacist, but in my role, I can impact more than 400,000 lives.”
Working in a hands-on setting in rotations and in the classroom at Fisher, Button was able to develop knowledge and skills that helped her grow in her profession. “Fisher absolutely prepared me academically for my career through the didactic curriculum and rotations. The Wegmans School of Pharmacy is acutely aware that pharmacy is an evolving field and works to expose students to as many opportunities as possible.”
Now, she applies all of her education and experiences to the work she does in case management, data analysis, precepting, and adjunct teaching. “Fisher taught me the necessity of advocating for the pharmacy profession and showing the value a pharmacist can bring to a team.”
Button acknowledged several factors that led her to choose the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, including the pass rates on board exams, match rates for residency programs, and job placement after graduation. “In addition to receiving an excellent education, the social aspect cannot be forgotten—faculty are supportive and dedicated to helping students be successful and many of my classmates have remained some of my closest friends.”
Matthew Cheung ’20
Non-Sterile Compounding Lab Supervisor
As a compounding pharmacist, Matthew Cheung views his work as a form of art, blending science and creativity to personalize patient care. In his sophomore year at Fisher, he discovered a passion for serving the community through personalized and compassionate care within the art and science of custom prescription medications. “Compounding offered a unique opportunity to go beyond simply dispensing medications,” Cheung explained. “It allowed me to truly personalize health care and cater to the specific needs of individuals, particularly those with unique or complex conditions, beyond what is commercially available.”
He believes Fisher taught him how to be an exceptional pharmacist. “The Wegmans School of Pharmacy’s world-class courses and faculty mentorship provided a strong foundation for my career as a compounding pharmacist.” This foundation allowed him to achieve many compounding-related accomplishments, including an Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience rotation at the Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA), the gold-standard supplier and educator for compounding pharmacies.
The mentorship and education Cheung received at Fisher deeply influenced the trajectory of his career as a pharmacist, and he recommends the program to anyone interested in a career in pharmacy and invites prospective students to explore options outside the retail and hospital stereotypes. “The program focuses on experiential learning, emphasizing hands-on training in the state-of-the-art labs and numerous opportunities for APPE rotations, equipping students with invaluable practical experience.”
Juliette Miller ’20
Visiting Assistant Professor, Wegmans School of Pharmacy
The health care field always interested Juliette Miller, especially when she had the opportunity to shadow several pharmacists while she was in high school. “It opened my eyes to how much you can do with a Pharm.D.,” Miller explained. “The second I walked through the atrium of the Wegmans School of Pharmacy, I fell in love with the School, and the rest was history.”
In her first semester, Miller enrolled in an organic chemistry class and she began to find her niche. Other students were coming to her for tutoring in their courses, and someone asked if she ever considered becoming a professor. “It never occurred to me that I could pursue a career in both pharmacy and academia.”
Miller had the opportunity to teach in an elective course during her final year of pharmacy school. This experience solidified her interest in eventually becoming a professor. She moved to Georgia for two years to pursue post-graduate residency training at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy while hoping to return to teach at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy someday. “Working as a professor at Fisher is my dream job because of how much I love the School, the environment, the mission and values, and the faculty and staff.”
That day has come, and Miller has returned to Fisher as a professor. She is looking forward to establishing a practice site where she can take care of patients and precept students on rotation while getting involved with committees, engaging in research and other scholarly activities, and leading mission trips.