Meet Rose

This March, we're celebrating the extraordinary women we're proud to support through EdNavigator.

Meet Rose, one of the many extraordinary women we're proud to support at EdNavigator this Women's History Month. As Rose's Navigator, Victoria Paulino, says, "When I first started working with Rose, she sent me her transcript. You should see it. Straight As. She has worked so hard to achieve her dream of being a pharmacist, all while raising her two daughters, caring for her mother, and working full-time."

"In Haiti, I graduated as a pharmacist. Then I came to the United States. After college in your own country, you would like to continue to work in the same field, but it is not that easy. Therefore, you have to start somewhere. I got a job as an administrative assistant at a department store in Boston. I bought myself a house. I sent my kids to the best schools. Everything was okay. But my desire to work as a pharmacist never went away.

I heard about this exam for foreign pharmacists. However, when I took the exam, I didn’t do well at all. As a result, I kept my full-time job at the department store and started working part-time at CVS as a pharmacy technician to become more familiar with the new drugs and technology used in US pharmacies. I took the exam again. I did better, but it wasn’t enough to pass. After that I said, well, what can I do? I have a good job, I pay my bills, I feel happy. And then, the department store went out of business and I was laid off. At the time, there were no full-time pharmacy technician job openings in the area, so I took on three part-time positions. Then finally, a full-time position became available at Hebrew SeniorLife where I am currently working.

While I started working at my new full-time job, I was also taking care of my mother who got sick. After she died, I felt that I had the time to focus on my education again. So, I called the pharmacy school, and they told me I have to take a list of prerequisite classes in order to be admitted. I started taking those classes around my work schedule.

Then I heard about EdNavigator. I met my Navigator, Victoria, and every day she was asking me if I’d done my application. She was a huge help. Anything I didn’t understand, she called for me. Thanks to her, I got the application submitted a month before the deadline. Now I just have to finish organic chemistry and physics to be eligible to begin the program. If I get in, it’s three more years. Then I will get my PharmD license.

This is my dream. You make people feel good by being a pharmacist. My heart is for pharmacy. I’ve been working for this for over 30 years. Thanks to my mom, who made a lot of sacrifices so that I can have an education, I have been able to pursue my dream and be a role model for my two daughters. They are my biggest supporters in encouraging me to attain my goal."

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