WSU Applebaum student pharmacist earns APhA National Leadership Award and Community Pharmacy Scholarship
Third-year Doctor of Pharmacy student Shannon Habba was presented with the national Student Leadership Award during the APhA 2024 Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando in late March — marking the first time a Wayne State student has received this honor.
Established in 1983, the APhA Student Leadership Awards recognize outstanding academic achievement and leadership ability at the local, regional and national levels of students who are currently in their next-to-last year of pharmacy school.
Habba also received the Pharmacists Mutual Community Pharmacy Scholarship and was an invited guest at the APhA Foundation Contributors Breakfast as well as the Remington Honor Dinner during the conference.
“Shannon is extremely deserving of these awards for many accomplishments over the last couple of years,” said Assistant Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice Brittany Stewart, who traveled to the meeting with Habba and student Samantha Jaboro. “I am so incredibly proud of Shannon and her commitment to being a leader and her dedication to the profession of pharmacy.”
WSU Applebaum students are often presented with the opportunity to attend state and national conferences, a practice that aligns with Wayne State University’s College to Career initiative, which seeks to provide every student with experiential learning opportunities that allow them to encounter the world, gain deeper insights and new perspectives, and prepare for prosperous careers.
Meaningful impact
Habba is actively engaged as a leader in several professional organizations, including the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP), Michigan Pharmacists Association, Macomb County Pharmacists Association and Lambda Kappa Sigma. She currently serves as the immediate past president and chair of the WSU APhA-ASP chapter.
During Habba’s presidential term in 2022, she set numerous goals focused on strengthening the chapter by improving student engagement, expanding community outreach efforts and creating resources to support the next generation of leaders.
For example, Habba created a chapter operation manual to provide guidance for event planning, scheduling and reporting. With the support of chapter advisor Dr. Stewart, Habba was able to successfully spearhead multiple student-led community outreach projects, including a medication history program at an underserved clinic in Detroit. Most notably, she received a grant to implement #ATimeToTalk depression screenings in the community pharmacy setting.
Under Habba’s leadership, the chapter succeeded in recruiting a record number of new and returning student pharmacist members and cultivated a community of student pharmacists looking to be more engaged at the local, state and national levels.
Through Habba’s passion and exceptional support of her executive board, WSU APhA-ASP student pharmacists found their why. Habba’s leadership skills and professional engagement reflect a genuine passion for upholding the mission and vision of APhA, improving the well-being of patients, and making a meaningful impact on the pharmacy profession.
“I am honored to receive this recognition from APhA and I’m thankful for the student pharmacist leaders within our organization who help execute our chapter’s initiatives,” Habba said. “I am also grateful to Dr. Stewart, the team of faculty members, and my peers for their thoughtfulness in nominating me for this award.”
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.