NDSU PharmD grad, now a regional leader, made important connections while at NDSU

Earning a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree from NDSU opens doors and builds bridges for graduates, putting them on track to exciting, rewarding careers in pharmacy.

Whether they are hoping to provide pharmacy services to their hometown, be a leader for a regional health-system's pharmacy team or anywhere in between, NDSU’s PharmD program gives students the tools they need to succeed. Maari Loy, a 2010 graduate of the program, makes a significant regional impact as the pharmacy operations senior manager at Essentia Health in Fargo.

For Loy — a triple Bison alum, having also earned her 2008 B.S. in pharmaceutical science and 2011 MBA from NDSU — the connections she made on campus were immediately meaningful and continue to be so.

“My PharmD degree from NDSU provided me with a community within pharmacy,” said Loy, from Prosper, North Dakota. “Pharmacy across the United States is a close-knit group; being part of the NDSU community allows you to build immediate connections within the industry. If you have NDSU on your CV or resume, there’s an immediate connection because you’re coming from a strong program.”

NDSU’s PharmD program prepares students to become trusted medication experts and leaders in the evolving world of healthcare. Graduates enter the workforce equipped with the professional tools to handle the numerous ways pharmacists provide care to patients.

That versatility helps Loy in her day-to-day work, which includes overseeing medication and various pharmacy services for Essentia’s west market, a territory that stretches from Hankinson to Moorhead to Bismarck — roughly equivalent in size to the entire state of Vermont.

“My day-to-day can be quite varied,” said Loy. “One day I will be helping out with infusion teams, another I could be overseeing medications for our clinics across the region, then I could be taking care of a medical surgical team. I could also be in our central pharmacy working a regular shift as a hospital pharmacist.”

While she performs many important duties, including managing and reviewing how to best use medications on a case-by-case basis, Loy most enjoys a major cornerstone of working in medicine.

“I would say my favorite aspect of this job is serving patients,” said Loy. “We can make a huge difference in people’s lives, even though patients all have different needs. Whether their conditions are easy or difficult to take care of, we can work with their diagnoses to make their lives better with the medications that can treat their conditions.”

Attending NDSU carried on a family tradition for Loy, who is a fourth-generation Bison alum. With her PharmD degree, she also carried forward the medical legacy of her maternal grandfather, who was a long-time rural physician in nearby Casselton, North Dakota — where Loy attended high school.

“I knew in high school in Casselton that I wanted to work in healthcare,” said Loy. “I wanted to serve patients and make a difference for them like my grandpa did. I chose pharmacy because I’m a ‘why?’ person and I wanted to know more. I learned that being a ‘why?’ person in pharmacy means knowing all of the things about the medications that are treating a patient’s conditions.”

PharmD graduates enter a job market where they are qualified for a variety of roles, including retail, clinical, oncology, pediatric and emergency care pharmacy. According to Lightcast, a leading provider of labor market analytics and workforce data, a PharmD graduate can expect to earn an average annual salary of $139,100 within five years of earning their doctorate.

Graduation isn’t the end of a PharmD student’s contact with NDSU, either: Loy notes that even 16 years after earning her doctorate, she still regularly speaks with university faculty and staff.

“Even as an alum, I continue to be in regular contact with my advisor, Jeanne Frenzel,” said Loy, “and I joke with her that she continues to be my advisor and will never be rid of me. We continue to work together on things like pharmacy recruitment. But the entire pharmacy staff at NDSU, whether they’ve been there for a long time or a short time, are very invested in the pharmacy profession.”

Loy has also stayed involved with NDSU Extension through the Research Extension Center in Casselton, where she volunteers her time to support the local 4-H club. She also remains active in organizations she joined during her time on campus, including the North Dakota Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the North Dakota Pharmacists Association.

When she meets a student considering pharmacy, Loy suggests they take a serious look. She points to the variety of roles throughout the industry that combine different interests and specialties.

“If you’re thinking, ‘I’m interested in healthcare, and pharmacy science is kind of cool, but I really want to be a teacher,’ you can be a pharmacy teacher,” said Loy. “Or if you’re curious about pharmacy but enjoy engineering, there are opportunities in pharmaceutical sciences, informatics and research. I also tell them, if they’re considering NDSU, about the investment the university has in you as a student and how the faculty really support your learning.”

See how NDSU is preparing students for exciting careers on the official NDSU YouTube channel.

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