The Best of Both Worlds

As a Kent County native, Carley Peet ’22 is no stranger to Washington College, where she recently decided to study Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Carley has known for a while that graduate school for pharmacy is part of her future, but the undergraduate degree that will get her there– that has been a journey.

 

“When I was in high school I was in a nursing program doing clinicals and I realized I didn’t want to be a nurse, but that I wanted to stay in the medical field; part of the program was a pharmacy tech class and that's when I became interested in pharmaceuticals. Coming to WC I knew I wanted to do something with that; as a prospective student I talked to Dr. Connaughton and he told me about the 3:4 program as well as the biology and chemistry majors, which drew me to WC.”

Since then Carley has opted out of the 3:4 program, deciding that she wants to stay at WC all four years before pursuing graduate school. 

“I really like being on campus, I want to spend all four years here and I want to write a thesis and have the full experience here.”

As for what her thesis will be, Carley is considering studying antibiotic resistance– a subject she is currently learning about in her microbiology course. 

“I have to see how it can tie in with biochemistry and molecular biology, but I feel it will help further my knowledge in pharmacy and help my career as a whole.”

Carley is thankful to all of her professors for their patience and guidance with her uncertainty in choosing a major. 

“I love how much the faculty and staff want to see us succeed, when I was trying to decide on my major Dr. Amick and Dr. Cannaughton were so supportive, I could see they really care about me and what I want to do.”

After an impressively thorough meeting with Associate Professor of Biology Martin Cannaughton, Carley was able to confidently choose her major. (Although she still has to sign the paperwork!) 

“I was stuck between chemistry and biology, I love them both and I was scared if I did one I would miss the other. Recently I met with Dr. Cannaughton and he laid it all out for me, he had about six sheets of paper spread out and was intensely writing down what it would like if I chose from all these different majors,” she says. “He walked through everything about how my next two years would look for each major and how each would help me in pharmacy school. When we talked about the different classes for each major and I felt like biochemistry was a good mix of each major and I wouldn't regret missing anything. It is a really great combination of biology and chemistry, I feel like I'm not giving anything up and it relates really well to pharmacy.” 

“I know Dr. Cannaughton was busy preparing the Belize trip, so for him to take the time to go over everything with me was amazing.”

Carley is looking forward to a career in compounding pharmaceuticals, which she is currently gaining experience in as an employee at Edward’s Pharmacy in Centerville, MD. 

“I started working at Edward’s Pharmacy over the summer when I called and asked if I could job shadow, and they offered a position! I’m getting experience in the compounding lab and they are helping me get my pharmacy technician certification. It is really cool that they are helping me through that process. In the lab we compound lotions, creams, tablets and capsules that are specific to a customer’s needs rather than over-the-counter prescriptions.”

Carley is most likely heading off the Eastern Shore when it comes time for graduate school, as she is considering places like the University of North Carolina, and the University of Maryland. However, Carley will always carry a piece of Washington College with her. 

“I’m going to try to give the sense of community I found here to everywhere I go and bring it to people who may not have experienced that before. It is so nice when you can feel how someone is genuinely there for you, it changes something in you.”