Graduating students – Lucia Lay, Master of Pharmacy

Congratulations to all our students on their graduation

AS a new and award-winning University of Huddersfield graduate in pharmacy, Lucia Lay will be entering a profession that is becoming increasingly central to all aspects of healthcare.

“Pharmacists are becoming more clinical and utilising a greater range of their skills in areas such as GP surgeries and community pharmacies where previously their potential hadn’t been fully recognised,” said Lucia, who has achieved First Class Honours in her four-year Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree.

Now, she returns to her home city of Sheffield for a year’s pre-registration training.  This will enable her to enter a rapidly evolving profession that also offers areas of specialisation.

The role of pharmacists in the treatment of mental health is one of the subjects that Lucia has found especially fascinating.  During her studies, she attended several conferences dealing with the issue and this could be a research route she takes in the future.

“There has been a lack of parity between mental and physical health, but it’s a lot better than it was.  The treatment of mental health is an area that is growing in importance,” she says.

Study Pharmacy at Huddersfield

Lucia was determined to gain maximum value from her University of Huddersfield course and she has duly received a departmental award for Most Engaged Student across her years of study.

And now she has been announced as the latest winner of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Prize For the Student Best Demonstrating RPS Values.

“I have got a lot more out of my course than I could ever have imagined and over the past four years I have grown a lot as a person,” said Lucia.

For example, acting as a student rep and taking part in open days helped her confidence to grow and gave her insights into the course and the work of the lecturers.

“The staff are amazing and the course is interesting and constantly being updated,” said Lucia.  “I feel that the future of pharmacy is bright and if I was given a chance to do it all again, Huddersfield would no doubt be my first choice of university.”