Simon Youth Foundation and CVS/pharmacy partnership is prescription for student success

The 2011 Indianapolis area  CVS Pathways to Pharmacy
students from SYF

In an economy that has left many high school students and recent graduates without a summer job, 11 Simon Youth Foundation students will be working in their local CVS/pharmacy store for the next six weeks after being selected to the sixth annual CVS Pathways to Pharmacy program, which is coordinated in partnership with SYF.

A program kick-off event was hosted on Wednesday, June 15, at the CVS Regional Distribution Center in Indianapolis, Ind.

“CVS Pathways to Pharmacy places current students and recent graduates from our nationwide Simon Youth Academies in local CVS pharmacies, where they work six-week internships,” says Julie Carriere, the coordinator of education services at SYF. “At the end of the internship, SYF awards a $1,000 stipend to each of the students.”

As interns, SYF students will primarily work as pharmacy technicians, interacting directly with CVS customers while filling their prescriptions.

Carriere says that nationwide 25 SYF students have been selected to participate in the program, including the 11 from the Indianapolis area. She says the partnership with CVS fills a key component of the SYF mission.

“We are not in the business of just cranking out academy graduates,” Carriere says. “Our mission is to connect our students with valuable personal and professional development opportunities, and many of the SYF students who have worked as Pathways interns have gone on to successful careers with CVS.”

Ron Snow of CVS addresses the
Pathway Pharmacy students from SYF

Ron Snow, R.Ph., manager of professional and college relations for CVS/pharmacy, says the partnership with SYF helps his company provide a valuable service to at-risk students in the community, and it gives the company access to well-performing workers.

“Based on their experiences in Simon Youth Academies, SYF students are committed to academic and personal achievement, and that work ethic benefits our stores," Snow says. "Many of the students have been valuable contributors to the success of their local CVS pharmacies,”

Carriere says that whether a student’s long-term goal is a career with CVS or in another field the Pathways to Pharmacy experience builds valuable and lasting skills.

“Our SYF partnerships and the programs they sustain are developing not only great students but great people, who understand what it is to work hard and serve their communities” Carriere says. “This is our commitment to the students we serve at SYF.”

NOTE: The slideshow above contains images from the Pathway to Pharmacy kickoff event, including shots near the end that show students learning for the first time the CVS Pharmacy locations where they will intern.