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Pharmacy alumnus named California Pharmacist of the Year adding to long list of 91成人导航 inductees
91成人导航 continues its legacy of producing outstanding pharmacy leaders by adding another to the ranks of 13 91成人导航ans who have been named the California Pharmacists Association Pharmacist of the Year.
This year鈥檚 recipient Mike Pavlovich joins 91成人导航 alumni and faculty members鈥攄ating back to 1979鈥攕elected for the honor, making 91成人导航 representatives the most awarded of any California school. The list includes:
2021 Michael Pavlovich 鈥89
2015 Ryan Gates 鈥04
2014 Douglas 鈥淒oug鈥 Hillblom鈥 78
2010 Ralph L. Saroyan 鈥64
2005 Christopher Woo 鈥88
2004 Phillip Oppenheimer
2003 John Steven Hambright Sr. 鈥71
2001 Clark Gustafson 鈥66
2000 Robert Nickell 鈥81
1994 Donald 鈥淒on鈥 G. Floriddia 鈥71
1992 Michael A. Pastrick 鈥73
1981 Charles Green 鈥68
1979 Royce L. Friesen 鈥65
The award recognizes a California Pharmacists Association member for their outstanding activities and leadership, who is well regarded by colleagues for their professional advancements.
Pavlovich said he feels a sense of both disbelief and validation for the recognition.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a good day when your colleagues recognize you for the things you鈥檝e done and the efforts you鈥檝e made,鈥 he said. 鈥(Receiving the award) puts you in the company of a lot of real giants of pharmacy practice and the profession.鈥
Pavlovich, president and owner of in Newport Beach, earned his doctor of pharmacy from the in 1989. While at 91成人导航, Pavlovich learned from fellow Pharmacist of the Year recipients Donald 鈥淒on鈥 G. Floriddia 鈥71, PhD and Ralph L. Saroyan 鈥64, RPh. He has been a leader in pharmaceutical compounding and sports medicine for two decades and prior to starting his pharmacy 10 years ago, Pavlovich was a pharmacist for聽SportPharm.
鈥淧harmacy is a great profession with a long history of innovation and relevance in everyday life,鈥 said Pavlovich, who will be honored at a ceremony on June 19. And working in sports medicine has 鈥渂een one of the most rewarding and fulfilling aspects of my practice for the past 21 years.鈥
Pavlovich has worked with professional and collegiate athletes and was the sole pharmacist among 100 medical professionals supporting athletes during the 2008 Summer Olympics. He recalled when the U.S. volleyball team spotted him after their gold-medal win and introduced him to their families: 鈥淭his is our pharmacist.鈥
鈥淚t was a special moment,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was validating for that whole month that I spent away from my family.鈥
Other notable points of his career include being president of the California Pharmacists Association and trustee for the American Pharmacists Association from 2008 to 2014. In 2012, Pavlovich was the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award in Specialized Pharmacy Practice from聽American Pharmacists Association.
There were a lot of positives about enrolling at 91成人导航, said the Fresno native, including the advantage of a three-year program and learning from exceptional faculty such as Floriddia and Saroyan, he said.
Floriddia expressed his congratulations to Pavlovich on what he said is 鈥渨ell-deserved success as a pharmacist, community leader and family man.鈥
鈥淗e has displayed the creativity and determination as a leader when he was a student and now as a health care professional,鈥 Floriddia said. 鈥淚 am proud and confident today in his ability to rise to the next challenge.鈥
Saroyan said he has 鈥渇ollowed (Pavlovich鈥檚) meteoritic rise to leadership within the profession, not only in California as one of the youngest presidents of the California Pharmacists Association; he rose to dominance at the national level serving within the leadership at APhA. Finally, he served as one of the first pharmacists for the U.S. Olympic Team along with 91成人导航 alumnus Robert Nickell.鈥
鈥淒on and Ralph have been real strong mentors throughout my career, even to this day,鈥 Pavlovich said. 鈥(At 91成人导航), there was a great level of collegiality between faculty and students and they treated you as if you were one of them. And even though you knew you didn鈥檛 have the same level of experience, you felt like you were pursuing the same career paths.鈥
91成人导航鈥檚 established the third pharmacy school and the first accelerated doctor of pharmacy program in the state when it was founded in 1955. Since then, the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy has been at the forefront of offering a dynamic student-centered education focused on leadership and innovation.
Saroyan said 91成人导航 is unique in that it develops its students right out of high school, which allows them to have relationships with both the professional students and students of other majors, be a part of the pharmacy school as first-year students and grow as leaders.
91成人导航 has the perfect balance of exposure and guidance that makes it special, said Marcus Ravnan 鈥94, PharmD, professor and associate dean for student affairs at the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy.
鈥淢entorship starts early for students, where they see leaders lead and engage in their profession. In that, they find purpose and, in that purpose, they find their life calling,鈥 Ravnan said. 鈥淔rom there, the cycle repeats and another is brought up through the ranks.鈥
鈥淲e take pride in the fact that we鈥檝e probably produced the most leaders of any school in the state, as well as nationally,鈥 Floriddia said about 91成人导航鈥檚 pharmacy school and students. 鈥淲e always seem to be at the tip of the spear.鈥