PHARMACY

Graduated in 1973
Member, WSU Applebaum Board of Visitors

Q: Why did you choose Wayne State? 

A: I could not afford to leave home to attend a university. I had to commute and work part time. Wayne State was the right fit for me. 

Q: What inspired you to pursue pharmacy?

A: I was working as a clerk in a drug store and saw the great respect the community had for the pharmacist and how that pharmacist was able to help their patients. I knew I wanted to follow that path to work with patients. 

Q: Who was your most memorable instructor?

A: Professor Henry Wormser had a clear delivery of the subject matter in a way that kept students interested and motivated.

Q: What was your most challenging class?

A: Organic Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Professor Melvin Dunker had a very difficult teaching method. However, in retrospect, he taught us discipline.

Q: Where was your favorite place to study? 

A: The Kappa Psi fraternity house

Q: Share some reflections about your time at Wayne State: 

A: It was a time of hard work and long days, and it was very challenging. I learned that in order for me to personally grow, I needed to be challenged — and pharmacy school definitely was challenging. I learned discipline as well as the importance of being precise and well organized. I had a professor who stressed the importance of the decimal point; pharmacists have to be exact. These skills served me well in pharmacy and throughout my career. 

Q: What advice would you give to today’s pharmacy students?

A: Learn as much as you can. Take it all in. Study hard and enjoy! If you do all those things, you will do very well. 

Q: In your opinion, what is one of the biggest changes that has occurred in your profession since graduating?

A: Pharmacy has gone from product-centric to patient-centric.

Giancamilli has served as a member of the WSU Applebaum Board of Visitors since 2022. Read more about his pharmacy school experience and the impressive career that followed.

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The Doctor of Pharmacy program at Wayne State University is a four-year curriculum in the heart of Detroit. Approximately 100 students are enrolled in each year of the program. WSU Applebaum information meetings for prospective students take place at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month. The application process or the Doctor of Pharmacy program begins each July.

An anchor in urban health care

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is built on more than 100 years of tradition and innovation in the heart of Detroit. We have grown deep roots in our city, harnessing its powerhouse hospital systems and community service organizations as vibrant, real-world training grounds for students, with an ongoing focus on social justice in health care. And our research at all levels – from undergraduates to veteran faculty members – translates into creative solutions for healthier communities.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering approximately 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 24,000 students.