Regional Recognition

Bianca Romero Earns Chapter's Student Recognition Certificate at Region 6 APhA-ASP Midyear Regional Meeting  

UH College of Pharmacy Pharm.D. student Bianca Romero's commitment to patient care and supporting fellow members of the UH Chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) earned her the respect and admiration of her peers at the APhA-ASP Region 6 Midyear Regional Meeting Oct. 17-19 in Austin.  

A third-year pharmacy student from Granbury, Texas, Romero was one of several APhA-ASP members in Region 6 to be nominated by their respective college chapters for the Student Recognition Certificate. For the past two years, Romero has served in leadership roles -- as a Junior Chair in 2013-14 and as the Senior Chair for this year -- organizing and coordinating fellow students at community events as part of the UH chapter's Operation Immunization activities.

APhA-ASP student pharmacists have impacted thousands of Houston-area residents through the direct delivery of seasonal flu immunizations, assisting with patient registration for immunizations, and providing education on immunizations as part of the local chapter's work under the national initiative. These activities have been undertaken through numerous community events across the greater Houston area in collaboration with pharmacy partners, social service organizations and governmental bodies. 

"APhA-ASP is an organization very near to my heart," Romero said. "As senior chair for Operation Immunization, I have worked to ensure that we are not only focused on providing immunizations to underserved populations, but also providing education. We want our community to have resources to access accurate and up-to-date information. 

"Being recognized as Chapter Member of the Year is a tremendous honor. This year, we have implemented many new ideas into Operation Immunization in hopes to expand our public outreach. My two junior chairs, Thao Le and Amanda Nguyen, as well as the executive officers, have been instrumental in accomplishing what we have thus far. The UH chapter has so many talented and dedicated officers and I know our chapter will continue to grow and flourish in the years to come." 

UH APhA-ASP Chapter President Ashley Trojcak said Romero was recommended for the recognition not only for her hard work as an APhA-ASP officer the past two years, but for her outstanding mentorship to her junior chairs.

"She has brought innovation and fresh ideas to an operation that has not been previously recognized, and helped establish a foundation that future officers can build upon," Trojcak said. "Through collaborations with the City of Houston, Walgreens, and many others, Bianca and her fellow operation chairs have impacted more than 400 Houstonians just in this semester alone through flu shot clinics, tabling events, and educational presentations.

"Her remarkable mentoring ability is reflected through her junior chairs’ growing leadership skills and professionalism, which is evident at every event they host. This award couldn’t go to a more deserving individual and we are eager to see what she accomplishes this year!"