Why Continuity of Care Matters to Future Pharmacist Maya Sepulveda

“The way I saw my family struggle to access and maintain care in the long term made me want to pursue a career that helped bridge those disparities,” said Sepulveda, now a first-year student at Touro College of Pharmacy (TCOP). As she became interested in science in high school, she began thinking about work that would allow her to help patients navigate those barriers. She wanted to build the kind of trusting relationships that could make it easier for people to seek care and keep receiving it.

Sepulveda moved to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College, where she initially pursued a premedical path and became involved in molecular research. As graduation approached in 2024, however, she was uncertain about medicine. She wanted a healthcare career built around taking care of people and interacting with them, and she was still figuring out where she belonged.

Shortly before graduating, she began working as a technician trainee at Value Drugs, an independent pharmacy in Bronxville. Her supervising pharmacist, Laura Hall, recognized her curiosity and made time to teach her. Sepulveda often worked weekends, giving her opportunities to ask questions and learn about services she hadn’t known pharmacists provided. “I had a really good mentor,” Sepulveda said. “I received lots of opportunities to learn.”

Hall had roughly 30 years of experience and a particular interest in public health. She introduced Sepulveda to medication therapy management and involved her in a medication safety talk for seniors. Sepulveda volunteered her time for the educational work, eager to understand more about the profession. At the pharmacy, she began to see how the relationships pharmacists developed with patients could address some of the concerns that had first drawn her to healthcare.

“Pharmacy is unique in that you get to really connect with the patients you serve,” she said.
When she began researching pharmacy schools, Sepulveda paid close attention to their mission statements. TCOP’s emphasis on service and addressing inequities stood out. Her Latino background and her family’s experiences with barriers to care helped shape what she wanted from her education. She looked into student organizations and faculty research to see how the school’s priorities translated into opportunities for students.

Two months into the program, she was already making connections. Sepulveda received a Walgreens scholarship and, through Touro, spoke with a Walgreens pharmacist who helped oversee pharmacies in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Their conversation introduced her to opportunities for public health engagement within a chain pharmacy setting, an area she hadn’t previously considered.

“Touro really looks out for its students and connects them to grow in the area where they’re passionate,” Sepulveda said.

She has also begun exploring opportunities through the Center of Excellence, including talks and a student community focused on reducing health disparities through community-based interventions. The chance to meet students and connect with people in the broader academic and clinical community appealed to her, and she wanted to learn more about the research opportunities available.

Community pharmacy remains an interest, but her classes and conversations with faculty have also introduced her to ambulatory care. She is interested in how pharmacists work alongside physicians to develop medication regimens, bringing another perspective to a patient’s treatment. The range of work available within pharmacy—and faculty members’ willingness to help students explore it—has given her plenty to investigate.

“If I’m not studying, I want to be learning,” Sepulveda said.