Student Feature
From Track Hurdles to Health Care Leadership
Pharm.D. Student Keilana Nicholas Turns Early Adversity into Purpose-driven Patient Care
Keilana Nicholas understands what it means to be vulnerable in the hands of health care. At 12, she suffered a serious track injury, tearing multiple ligaments and enduring a difficult recovery that required a rigorous medication regimen. Shortly after beginning treatment, she experienced an adverse event, causing her to lose consciousness. That experience, marked by uncertainty and concern, sparked a commitment to help ensure future patients feel supported and informed.
As a third-year Pharm.D. student at UHCOP, Nicholas is combining rigorous academics with purposeful leadership and community connection, redefining how students approach their pharmaceutical education.
“I didn’t want to be somewhere that felt static,” Nicholas said. “I seek dynamic opportunities, which is why I’m glad I came to UHCOP. Our school lets us challenge ourselves to be the best we can be—not just academically, but for our community.”
Throughout her undergraduate career as a Cougar at the 91ÁÔĆć, Nicholas was drawn to roles that helped her give back in unique ways. She was an attentive Resident Advisor, helping alleviate clothing insecurity as a Cougar Closet volunteer, and was a dedicated member of the Food Insecurity Team (F.I.T.) Project, to name a few. It’s no surprise her passion for advocacy drove her to become president of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) chapter at UHCOP, where she leads over 40 officers that contribute to ten initiatives whose sole purpose is to serve the underserved.
Nicholas’s understanding of patient care sharpened at the 2024 Houston Mayor’s Back to School Fest, her first major outreach event. While educating patients about smoking cessation, she met a teenage girl who did not smoke but wanted information for her family. That moment made Nicholas realize the impact that pharmacy students can have on the communities they touch.
“She told me she could take what I taught her back to her family, and that’s when it hit me, pharmacy isn’t just treatment, it’s trust,” Nicholas said. “It made me realize I wasn’t just talking to someone. I was giving them something they could carry back into their home.”
Today, she pushes the narrative to “chart the uncharted” for the patients she and her team serves, representing their commitment to empowering patients to become pioneers of their own health.
“Leadership isn’t about being first, it’s about providing everyone with the right tools they need to be successful,” Nicholas said. “I like to see where people naturally go, and then I step in behind them. I never want to silence someone who just needs space to grow.”
Within UHCOP, Nicholas has extended her advocacy beyond patients to her peers. Uniquely, she was selected to join five other students as an Orientation Coordinator to welcome the Class of 2028. Through her role on the Pharm.D. Student Affairs Committee, she proposed updates to what many students felt were outdated dress code policies, advocating for students’ right to express themselves while upholding professionalism. She is also working to expand the distribution criteria for Professional Conference Travel Scholarships, maximizing the amount students are reimbursed.
Within SNPhA, she has made meaningful changes alongside her community outreach co-chairs and president-elect to increase membership engagement, ensuring that general members, especially P1 students, can practice patient education at health fairs and clinical outreach events early in their training. Nicholas explains that first-year Pharm.D. students are allowed to attend health fairs, though many hesitate because of academics, uncertainty or simply not knowing they can participate. After expanding the community outreach committee from two to four members, Nicholas prioritized increasing P1 engagement. The chairs introduced a “P1 Learners” role, giving first-year students a designated place in the health fair lineup to observe officers as they educate patients until they feel confident doing so themselves. Since adopting these approaches, attendance at outreach events has nearly doubled.
“It's been amazing watching the organization flourish like it has been,” Nicholas said. “Our members come out to these health fairs because they want to give back. It’s inspiring and I’m proud of what we’ve done so far and where we’re going.”
Academically, Nicholas is drawn to hematology and oncology, a path sparked by an intensive case presentation on hemophilia during her Institutional Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experience at Memorial Hermann Northeast. She immersed herself in research and found herself presenting to pharmacists who later said they had learned from her.
“To have pharmacists tell me they learned something, that was surreal,” Nicholas said. “It showed me students can contribute meaningfully to patient care, even before graduation.”
Nicholas’s trajectory underscores how service to underserved populations and advocacy within the profession can enhance the reach of clinical expertise. As she continues her training, she stays focused on uplifting her peers, supporting her community and strengthening patient relationships.
—&˛Ô˛ú˛ő±č;Naqiyah Kantawala