Student Success Stories

Student Success: Sergio Gamarra

Written by Michelle Ecker on Tuesday, 03 July 2018.

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Student Success: Sergio Gamarra
For several years in college, Sergio Gamarra pursued a career in computer science. However after giving his career aspirations and personal goals some thought, he came to the realization that he wasn’t in a field that truly made him happy. He realized that what he really wanted out of a career was to help people have better lives.
Soon after, he decided to enroll in NYICD’s online pharmacy technician course. The self-paced program allowed him to get started the instant he enrolled, to work at his own pace with the help of his mentor Tom, and to gain real-world experience with an externship at one of NYICD’s partner pharmacies, CVS. Soon after completing his NYICD course, Sergio was offered a position at the same CVS he had externed at. We recently got in touch with Sergio to talk about his feedback on NYICD’s program, his experiences with his new career, and his advice for our current students. Here’s what we learned:

  1. When did you realize that you wanted to become a pharmacy technician?

    I decided to become a Pharmacy Technician when I realized that I wanted to help people have better lives.

  2. Have you always been interested in healthcare?

    I was not always interested in healthcare. When I was in college, I used to be in computer science, but at the time I was going through a depression because my father had passed in 2015. The emotional realization had not caught me until I was in college. After I got help, I realized that computer science was not for me, that’s when I realized that I wanted to go into healthcare to help people.

  3. When did you enroll at NYICD?

    I enrolled in NYICD in January 2018. I did it because it was it was what I needed, it allowed me to enroll right away and start my courses that same moment.

  4. What was your coursework like?

    My coursework was very interesting, it was a lot of reading and filled with a lot of information, which was very vital to understanding how things work in the pharmacy.

  5. Was your mentor helpful during the process?

    My mentor was Mr. Thomas Frisco, and yes, he was very helpful. He helped me with every question I had and explained everything so that I could understand.

  6. How did you like the externship portion of the course?

    The externship experience was amazing for me because I got to learn many things and put the things I learned into practice. Because of the externship I was hired at the pharmacy that I trained at.

    Take an Online Pharmacy Technician Course

  7. After graduation, how did you use the course knowledge to help you with a real world career?

    After graduation, I use everything I learned in this course at my job as a pharmacy technician in the pharmacy where I did my externship.

  8. Is there anything you learned working in the real world that you wish you could’ve learned at NYICD?

    Basically, everything that I have learned at NYICD I can use in the real world, the only thing I wished I could learn is dealing with customers.

  9. Tell us about the work you do- are you enjoying it so far?

    I am working at CVS as a pharmacy technician and I help people get their medications. I enjoy working there because the environment I’m in is very pleasant, and I also enjoy helping people maintain their health.

  10. Describe a day in your life at work!

    At work I usually work at production- taking the prescriptions and filling the medications so that they are ready for the patients when they need them. I also work at pick up, where I work face to face with patients and help them receive their medications.

  11. What’s the most rewarding part of your career?

    The most rewarding thing for me is that I am helping people receive their medication to maintain a healthy life.

  12. If you could give one piece of advice to our current and prospective students, what would it be?

    The advice that I would give current and prospective students is that no matter how long or how much information is in this course, nothing beats the feeling of helping someone and knowing that you helped them get the medication and that you had a part to play in them getting or staying healthy.

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