Top prize for RGU student at Pharmacy Oscars

Monday 26 November 2018

Top prize for RGU student at Pharmacy Oscars
An impressive Robert Gordon University (RGU) Pharmacy student has spoken of her excitement after taking home the Student Leadership Award at the recent Scottish Pharmacy Awards.

Marie-Anne Durham, a third year Pharmacy student from Aberdeen, won the top prize at the prestigious ceremony held earlier this month in Glasgow.

She said: “It was very exciting to be nominated in the first place and I was inspired to be surrounded by so many award-winning individuals being celebrated for bringing innovation and new practice to pharmacy in Scotland.

“It was a bit of a whirlwind from car to ballroom to centre stage – and winning the award was a complete surprise – but it was an honour to represent RGU at the pharmacy equivalent of the Oscars.”

The Scottish Pharmacy Awards is an annual ceremony which recognises exceptional pharmacists across the country and showcases their accomplishments across various sectors and career stages.

Marie-Anne was nominated in honour of her dedicated work volunteering as the social media coordinator for the RGU Pharmacy Law and Ethics Group, where she highlights current issues affecting pharmacy practice to her fellow students.

She said: “It’s exciting to see pharmacy constantly evolving and I think it’s important to inspire this same interest in my peers.

“We are all incredibly lucky, as RGU’s campus and facilities are top-of-the-line and attract the best students. It is a very busy course, but my late night study sessions at the library have led to so many close friendships – with the help of plentiful visits to Costa!”

Marie-Anne is the latest RGU student to win a national pharmacy award, seeing off competition from two of her fellow North-east students and three from the University of Strathclyde.

The judges said she stood out from the competition thanks to her time leading activities in a Vietnamese homeless and disabled shelter as part of a World Challenge expedition.

Her role saw her work with her peers to overcome the language barrier by devising a system of hand gestures, miming, drawing and music, which helped her build rewarding relationships with the more isolated residents.

Professor Donald Cairns, Head of RGU’s School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, said: “All of us in the School are delighted for Marie-Anne and proud of her peers for also having their achievements nominated.

“Marie-Anne’s enthusiasm and passion for pharmacy has been evident throughout her time at university and it was a pleasure to be there to witness her success.”

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