Campus Tour Brings Back Memories for Public Health, Pharmacy Grad

I hold Touro very close to my heart. I spent five years here completing my Master’s in Public Health and then my Doctorate in Pharmacy. I learned I was pregnant when I started my Master’s and carried my pregnancy through the classrooms of Farragut Inn, studied on the booth seating of the old dining room, and under the low-lit lights of Wilderman Hall.

We made it work with what we had.

Lander Hall was a treat for us considering it was the newest remodeled place on campus complete with 10 microwaves, a mini cafe, and SGD rooms for private studying, or in my case pumping milk for my newborn. We didn’t have designated rooms for this at the time so it was so great to see the campus finally installed one for all the dedicated student-mothers. The library was still as cozy as ever, with the same brown couches we would catch each other falling asleep on during study breaks and some new couches that I was happy to see in a new DEI room, truly representing a campus assimilating to the times.

Walking around campus and through the buildings brought back a time in my life that was difficult, but worth every ounce of energy I had left in me. I had countless all-nighters studying and raising my newborn, always wondering if I could do this or if I should quit. All it took was a kind gesture from a faculty member or a word of encouragement from a classmate to keep me moving forward, to realize that the juice is worth the squeeze.

This is why I value my profession. The colleagues in my profession have the ability to empathize with each other and change lives with their kind words. All this came to the surface and invoked sentimental emotions I didn’t think would arise.

I have Touro to thank for where I am today and staying connected is the least I can do. I’ve been thinking a lot lately of how I can give back to a place that gave me so much. I don’t easily forget those who have been part of my journey in life. I truly believe that it takes remembering where we came from to appreciate how far we've come.

Dr. Nina Diez, PharmD, MPH, is an Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacist II at Stanford Children’s Health-Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital Home Infusion Pharmacy. Additionally, she is the owner and founder of Apothetique Holistic where she independently consults on integrative plant medicine. She values the time she gets to spend with patients, building trusting and patient-pharmacist relationships. As a cancer survivor, Dr. Diez actively participates in fundraisers for the Ovarian Cancer Research Association and has recently endowed a teaching laboratory for cancer biology and integrative medicine at the University of San Francisco. Originally from San Diego and now residing in Foster City, she is married, with two beautiful children and an inspiration for all things healthy in mind, body, and spirit.