MCC Pharmacy Technician program celebrates completers
The completers of the program are from left, Akiesha Tanksley, Candace Douglas, Amayia Cobbins, Emily Booker and Zoya Anderson. Laura Hailey, right, is the pharmacy technician
instructor.
Candace Douglas had wanted to enroll in Meridian Community College’s Workforce Development Pharmacy Technician class for a while.
With being a full-time mom and working full time, it was difficult to add one more item to her very full plate, but she did. “Nothing was going to stop me,” she said.
And nothing did. Douglas was one of six students who received their Pharmacy Technician certificates during a completion celebration at the MCC Riley Workforce Development Center.
The Pharmacy Technician course, which requires a minimum of 96 instructional hours, trains students to assist a licensed pharmacist. Students learn how to prepare and dispense medications in hospital and retail settings under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. Those who successfully complete the program are qualified to take the National Health career Association EcCPT certification exam.
Joining Douglas in the class were Zoya Anderson, Emily Booker, Amayia Cobbins, Ashley Thedford and Akiesha Tanksley.
“I faced so many difficulties this past four months,” Douglas said, “but I made it. This is the dream that I’ve been working for. I’m just glad to get to it.” Douglas encouraged classmates saying, “let’s knock the certification exam out of the park. We can do it.”
The instructor for this Pharmacy Technician class, Laura Hailey, said she was very proud of this term’s students. “With these workforce classes, it allows the non-traditional student to do something that they may not have been able to do otherwise,” she added.
In addressing the completion ceremony audience and to Douglas, MCC President Dr. Thomas Huebner said, “you’ve got babies at home, you have a job, but at the same time, you’ve got a bigger vision, and you’re going to make that happen.”