pioneer’s footsteps
Pictured above are a young Eugene and Laura White.
“I liked the type of life pharmacy could
provide...I could influence people,
affect their health and improve their
quality of life.” — Bo Spires
Growing up in Albany, Ga., fourth-year pharmacy student
Robert “Bo” Spires ’14, Pharm.D./ M.B.A., often dreamed of
owning his own business. Little did the former electrical engineer
know that one day he would fulfill that desire — not as an
engineering consultant but as a pharmacist. While he found his
former career professionally challenging, Spires’ ongoing interest
in the health sciences, passion for people and entrepreneurial
aspirations eventually led him to consider a career in pharmacy.
“As an engineer, I designed gadgets and GPS devices for guided
missile systems,” said Spires. “I loved the problem-solving side of it,
but I missed interacting with people. It was a very isolated type of
work that just didn’t fit my personality.”
“I liked the type of life pharmacy could provide,” he said. “I could
go to work for someone else or I could run my own pharmacy.
Mostly, I liked that I could influence people, affect their health and
make them feel better and improve their quality of life. That’s really
what I wanted to do as a professional.”
While continuing to work days, Spires took prerequisite courses at
night, then applied and was accepted to Shenandoah University’s
Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy.
“I wanted to learn in an atmosphere where teaching was the main
focus,” he explained. “That was one of the big draws for me at
Shenandoah. Plus, they offered the dual-degree M.B.A. I knew that
combining those skill sets would help me achieve my goals.”
Changing careers wasn’t an easy decision, but pharmacy just
seemed the right fit.
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