Pharmacists for a New Era
Touro College of Pharmacy Celebrates the Class of 2025 Commencement
On May 20, Touro College of Pharmacy (TCOP) held its fourteenth annual commencement at The Town Hall in Manhattan. The graduating class of 2025, faculty, family members, and invited guests gathered for a ceremony that reflected both professional achievement and personal growth. The day marked the culmination of four years of rigorous study, clinical rotations, and intense preparation for a profession that demands both technical skill and ethical responsibility.
“I can’t believe this moment is here,” said Silvia Abdelmalak, who will spend next year as a fellow in oncology clinical development at Pfizer. “I’m very excited for my new journey as a pharmacist. It’s a huge step.” Abdelmalak said she was inspired to become a pharmacist by her sister and fellow TCOP alumna Kristie Abdelmalak (’21). “She’s a clinical infectious disease pharmacist and I loved her role in the hospital and loved how involved pharmacists were in patient care.”
Thirty percent of the graduating class will be pursuing residencies at institutions such as Montefiore Medical Center, Northwell Health, SUNY Downstate, the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Remembering the History of Pharmacy
TCOP Dean Henry Cohen, PharmD, delivered remarks that grounded the moment in its historical context. He reminded graduates that the Oath of the Pharmacist has roots extending back to ancient medicine and Jewish scholarship, including the works of Maimonides. “You are becoming part of a tradition dating back a millennium,” he said, emphasizing that pharmacists are not only healthcare professionals, but caretakers of trust, science, and patient well-being.
Cohen listed the myriad roles today’s pharmacists are expected to fill—from dosing experts to immunizers, toxicologists, and pharmacogenetic specialists—and encouraged graduates to remember their responsibilities in all aspects of their work. He concluded his speech by noting that he had no doubts that the students were prepared for the challenges ahead. “You are pharmacists now,” he said.
Career Shaped by Change
The keynote speaker, Lisa Lifshin of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, gave a personal and candid talk about her path to pharmacy. A first-generation American and daughter of Holocaust survivors, she initially wanted to pursue law. Her family persuaded her to choose a more stable career. Pharmacy wasn’t her first choice, but it became her calling.
Lifshin emphasized adaptability, professionalism, and collaboration as virtues to help the new graduates in their careers. “Don’t say no,” she told graduates. “Help the technicians. Join the team. Learn as much as you can.” She encouraged graduates to pursue board certification, stay engaged in professional organizations, and in an echo of an oft-taught lesson in TCOP, remember the patient comes first.
“We Kept Showing Up”
Two student speakers gave remarks that reflected the class’s unique experience.
Rajsumeet Macwan described a powerful moment during a hospital rotation: watching a pharmacist comfort a patient whose discharge was delayed due to concerning lab results. That memory, the student said, captured what makes pharmacy more than a technical field—it is also a human one.
Class president Rhonda Moton took a broader view, reflecting on how the class navigated the transition back to in-person instruction after COVID-19 and the move to a new campus in Times Square. “We didn’t just adjust,” the student said. “We kept showing up—with purpose and with belief in what we were doing.”
