Student Feature: Ogechi Ngwakwe
Beyond the White Coat
How One Pharmacy Student Fills More Than Prescriptions: She's Filling Gaps In Patient Care
With a background in biochemistry, Pharm.D. candidate Ogechi Ngwakwe is preparing for far more than a career—she is committed to advancing the role of pharmacy in addressing health care disparities and improving patient outcomes. Through academic excellence, national research, competitive achievements, and community outreach, Ngwakwe is helping to shape a more equitable and responsive future for the profession.
Dose of Determination
“I’ve wanted to be a pharmacist since I was 10,” Ngwakwe said. “I set my eyes on it, and it hasn’t wavered.”
Raised in a health care-oriented family—both parents are nurses, her uncle a pharmacist, her aunt a physician assistant—Ngwakwe saw the human side of science early in childhood. But her pursuit wasn’t a matter of family expectation.
“I was really good at science and math, and I’ve always been driven to do something meaningful with those skills,” Ngwakwe said. “Pharmacy was the perfect intersection of empathy, logic, and lifelong learning.”
Choosing the 91破解版 was as much about proximity as it was about potential. With extended family in Houston and an eye toward the university’s reputable College of Pharmacy, it made perfect sense.
“I knew I’d have support here,” Ngwakwe said. “And once I found out about the College of Pharmacy, it just felt right.”
Not Just a Student but System Shifter
From her earliest semesters, Ngwakwe stood out—not with flash, but with follow-through. She immersed herself in research through COP’s Department of Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy (PHOP) and the Prescription Drug Misuse Education and Research (PREMIER) Center. She called independent rural pharmacies about opioid dispensing practices and later joined projects on systemic treatment barriers for underserved groups.
“We were looking at how health care providers treat patients with opioid use disorder and what gaps exist,” Ngwakwe said. “People assume addiction is simple to treat, but there are so many external factors—transportation, child care, stigma. It’s never just about the medication.”
She presented findings at the national level, including the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy’s Annual Meeting and Student National Pharmaceutical Association National Conference, and co-developed provider-facing tools to improve care for underserved patients.
“You want people to stay on their medications,” Ngwakwe said. “But what about everything around that? If you can’t even get to the clinic, what then? It’s not just about prescribing, it's about access, follow-through, and support.”
From Health Fairs to Healing Moments
Her favorite moments haven’t always come in the lab or classroom; they've come face-to-face with the people she hopes to serve. At a health fair geared toward Black men’s wellness event, a routine encounter checking a person’s blood glucose blossomed into something memorable.
“At the end, he said, ‘It’s good to know there are people like you entering the field,’” Ngwakwe said. “That kind of moment being seen not just as a student, but as someone making a real difference sticks with you.”
Writing Her Own Rx for Change
An active member of eight student organizations, including the Rho Chi Honor Society and Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society, Ngwakwe said she likes to challenge herself with what she is passionate about. She placed in the top six nationally at the SNPhA Medical Science Liaison Simulation Competition and hopes to compete again.
“They wanted us to be ourselves and make it educational,” Ngwakwe said. “I loved it, it made me want to go back and do it again.”
Ngwakwe works to create an environment for others to thrive and approaches leadership with authenticity and purpose.
“If I’ve had a good experience in an organization or event, I want others to have that too,” Ngwakwe said. “Leadership is about curating something meaningful for the people who come after you.”
The Formula for Impact
Even with interests as broad as oncology, dermatology, transplant care, and health economics, one constant remains: her passion for reducing disparities. She’s exploring industry roles on market access, managed care, drug affordability, and especially changing the system from within.
“No one is at the pharmacy for fun,” Ngwakwe said. “They’re there because they have to be. I want to work in a role where I can improve access and make sure people can afford and receive the medications they need.”
She said she is drawn to not only treating individuals but to reshape the structures that serve them, ensuring that the barriers to care are as few as possible. Her future plans include fellowships, residencies, and continuing work that bridges systems with service.
Grace in the Grind
Despite her long list of achievements, she speaks most powerfully about reflection. Asked what she’d tell her younger self, Ngwakwe responds with humility:
“I’d say celebrate your wins—big or small,” Ngwakwe said. “The journey matters as much as the destination.”
Ngwakwe is more than a promising student pharmacist. She envisions pharmacy as not only a profession but also a platform. She recognizes the complexities beneath the surface including systematic gaps in affordability, access, and patient voice, particularly for those whose needs are often overlooked: pregnant women navigating opioid use disorder, patients in rural communities, those facing incarceration, or individuals who simply can’t afford the medications they’re prescribed.
“I want to advocate for people, whether through patient care or leadership,” Ngwakwe said. "To know I used my position to help others, to me is a fulfilling pharmacy career.”
She’s not just learning the science of care. She’s becoming its new standard.
— Naqiyah Kantawala