Whitney Shields, Class of 2010

Whitney Shields did not come to the UA to study pharmacy; she came to study math and science – and compete on the track team.

“After high school,” says Shields, who is from the Chandler/Tempe area, “I knew I wanted to come to the UA. I was good in math and science. I got an academic scholarship and a small athletic scholarship for my undergraduate education. I was a pole vaulter. I competed in high school and at the UA.”

Her highest vault? Twelve feet.

The best thing that happened to her while on the track team? She met her future husband, Sean.

“On the Friday before the Sunday on which I got married,” says Shields, “I found out I had been accepted into the UA PharmD program. I was screaming with excitement. It was one of the best days of my life.”

According to Shields, the flexibility of the pharmacy profession appeals to women: you can work part time and still make a good living.

“I really have it all,” says Shields. “A husband who’s totally supportive, a job I enjoy, a beautiful baby and another one on the way! I had my first child, Kendyl Alexis, during my fourth year of pharmacy school. I finished my second rotation on a Thursday, had her on Saturday, took six weeks off, and then went back to rotations at the end of September.”

When asked how she has juggled – and succeeded in – the many responsibilities in her life, Shields says with a smile, “I always figure, ‘There’s no better time than the present.'"