Monday, August 26, 2024
Ava Ighani鈥檚 ties to The run deep, making her journey to becoming a student at the seem predestined. The second year PharmD student was born at The Osteopathic Medical
Center of Texas when it was still located and operating on campus in February 1999.
What鈥檚 more, her father, Dr. Jamshid Ighani, had graduated from the just seven years earlier.
鈥淢y dad enrolled at TCOM when he was 24, from 1988 to 1992,鈥� Ighani said. 鈥淗e always had a clear goal: to become a doctor and make a difference in people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
Dr. Ighani鈥檚 story is marked by resilience and perseverance. He fled Tehran, Iran at 14 due to political conflict, seeking freedom and opportunities in the United States. His inspiring journey to becoming a medical professional deeply influenced Ava鈥檚 dream of obtaining her PharmD degree at her legacy university.
鈥淭he reason he came here was to have freedom of religion and freedom of education because back in Iran there is no freedom of religion, freedom of speech or anything. So, he came here with a clean slate and started from scratch,鈥� recalled Ighani about her father鈥檚 humble beginnings in the United States.
As a woman of the Baha鈥檌 faith, Ava values the opportunity she has to follow in her father鈥檚 footsteps and pursue a doctorate in pharmacy.
鈥淎 lot of my dad鈥檚 side of the family didn鈥檛 have the opportunity and they had no
access, especially as a woman, as a Baha鈥檌 you do not have access to anything. His
story always resonated with me and it made me realize that I really am grateful and
at the same time, I don鈥檛 have an excuse because I grew up here. I was born at what
was originally the Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas 鈥� now HSC鈥檚 Medical Education
& Training Building 鈥� so I had no excuse but to reach for the stars,鈥� Ighani said.
Just like her father she is motivated to make a difference in the world by helping others achieve better health. However, she is creating her own path in the health care field as a future pharmacist.
鈥淢y last year as an undergrad student at the University of North Texas in Denton, I took pharmacology and had a wonderful professor who just completely helped solidify my path, and I figured out that I wanted to pursue pharmacy and be able to cater to my community,鈥� Ighani said.
One of Ighani鈥檚 favorite things about pharmacy school at HSC is the support she gets from faculty and her peers. She says that working in unison with her cohort has been a game changer and essential to pharmacy student success.
鈥淗aving friends that I really trust and I can go to, we just balance each other out mentally and emotionally. We do a lot for each other, but what I like specifically is the objective structural clinical exams,鈥� Ighani said. 鈥淲e have to meet with practice patients so everything we learned we have to apply. That helps to solidify if you gained a lot from what you learned.鈥�
Entering her second year of pharmacy school, Ava has completed 120 hours of IPPE practice over the summer. She feels prepared to tackle this academic year with a new approach after everything she learned throughout her first year. She is eager to implement better lifestyle and wellness practices encouraged by the culture at HSC, which she hopes will allow her to continue enjoying and maximizing her PharmD journey.
From - Community by Magaly Ayala