KINGSVILLE (Nov 14, 2025) — Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK) first-year pre-pharmacy students in the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy’s (RCOP) Aggie Student Pharmacists Initiative for Recruitment | Retention and Education (ASPIR2E) Pre-Pharmacy Introductory Program (PPIP) participated in the Pharmacy Profession Exploration Poster Fair on Monday, Nov. 10.
ASPIR2E is meant to prepare and support students who are aspiring pharmacists through a four-track program that includes recruitment and retention initiatives. The PPIP is track one of the program and is introduced during the Freshman Year of prospective undergraduate students. Track 1 is a collaboration between the TAMU College of Pharmacy and TAMUK offered through a special pre-pharmacy section of the TAMUK University Student Success Course (UNIV1201).
“TAMUK freshman pre-pharmacy students are so fortunate to have the opportunity to experience the Rangel College of Pharmacy in their first semester,” said Dr. Mauro Castro, TAMUK Regents Professor of Chemistry. “Their staff ensure that that our students get exposed to the pharmacy profession and learn what they need to do to get accepted into a pharmacy college through programs like the PPIP. Our students are eligible to apply for the ASPIR2E program that gives them the opportunity to be successful in becoming pharmacists. The PPIP culminates with our freshman students working with current pharmacy college students as peer mentors on a pharmacy project that they present to the campus community at the end of the semester.”
Within the PPIP is a guest lecture series from the RCOP faculty and staff, which concluded with the poster fair.
“During their first year at TAMUK, the College of Pharmacy connects with prospective students aspiring to be Pharmacist through their freshman seminar course in partnership with ASPIR2E and their academic advisors,” said Dr. Amanda Galindo, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at Texas A&M university College of Pharmacy. “During the UNIV course, I partner with Dr. Mauro Castro and get invited to seven lectures. The last lecture is this poster fair. Each student gets assigned a peer mentor for the PPIP who they work with while exploring different fields in the pharmacy profession.”
Faculty, staff, and past ASPIR2E participants who are now current PharmD students were on hand for the poster fair, allowing current PPIP students to discuss their research and begin to ask questions and network.
“(The poster fair) has been super eyer-opening,” said Sawyer Smith, a freshman biomedical science major at TAMUK said. “You do this and you realize most of these people (in attendance) have done this as well. You get to see where they are at now and where they used to be in our shoes. It’s kind of inspiring to see the trajectory that we’re on during our pursuit of a pharmacy career.”
“This program has been a great opportunity for students to get their foot in the door for pharmacy school,” Sawyer added. “It’s an opportunity to meet some of the professors, staff, and current students and start our journey to pharmacy school. Everyone was super friendly and super welcoming. They’re great people to talk to and ask questions if we have any.”
ASPIR2E is currently accepting applications for Track 2 (PPAP) for the spring semester. If you are interested in applying, please visit their website found here: https://pharmacy.tamu.edu/aspire/index.html.
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