2023 Grad Stories: Anthony Garofalo
May 9, 2023
Changing Careers After 20 Years Took More Than Courage
Before Anthony Garofalo, PharmD, graduated from the CHSU College of Pharmacy in the Class of 2023, he was married, raising three children, had a mortgage, and a 20-year management career at Costco. By all measures he had a successful life, but something was missing.
“I wasn’t fulfilled in the retail grind, and I was missing out on something. I wanted to have more impact on people’s lives and the field of medicine; giving advice was where it was at for me,” said Dr. Anthony Garofalo.
Originally from Rohnert Park in northern California, Dr. Garofalo attempted college after high school but decided to work full-time instead. His wife was from Clovis, so they moved here and started a family.
Ever since graduating high school, he knew he wanted to serve people in a meaningful way. Throughout his life, he had many family members and friends who suffered from cancer. He wanted to be able to reassure those around him and help them overcome any fears about medicine, especially while undergoing cancer treatment.
“Cancer has had an impact in my family. My grandmother passed before I was born. My uncle has been in remission miraculously for 27 years. An aunt and uncle died. My wife’s family has a history of breast cancer. Just the fear of medicine that I see around me has made me want to step up to a position where I could talk about it, serve, treat, and advocate,” said Dr. Garofalo.
At the age of 37, he decided to boldly pursue his dream of touching people’s lives through medicine and pursue becoming a pharmacist. Making this difficult decision was the beginning of his challenges.
To fulfill his dream, we would need to continue to be the sole provider for his wife and three sons, step down from his management career at Costco into a cashier position working 32-40 hours a week, and attend pharmacy school full-time, five days a week. But first, he would need to take college classes to qualify for pharmacy school.
After being out of school for nearly 20 years, he attended Fresno City College to take the pharmacy school prerequisite courses. He met a CHSU recruiter at a college fair and learned he could fast-track into pharmacy school by taking the prerequisites and forego earning his bachelor’s degree. He was able to immediately start pharmacy school after finishing the prerequisites.
He was accepted in the CHSU Doctor of Pharmacy program and faced even more challenges like connecting with younger classmates, having less stamina, and being unable to stay up all night studying and get up early for an exam.
“My age was a challenge going back to school at 37 years old. That was daunting and my classmates were many years younger than me,” said Dr. Garofalo. “But when I returned to school for the second time, I found it to be easier because I had direction, determination, and the focus I lacked in my youth.”
He worked hard in every aspect of his life during pharmacy school. He was awarded an annual $5,000 CHSU Scholarship for his academic success. While he was not able to get as involved in student professional organizations and activities because of his full-time work and family, he has many accomplishments for which he is proud.
Dr. Garofalo was a CHSU Student Ambassador, a member of the CHSU chapter of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), and he attended the American Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists mid-year conference.
He was also a member of the Student Liaison Committee for the Dean for two years and on the Ad Hoc Student Professional Conduct Review Committee.
He also won 3rd place in a local, virtual California Health-Systems Pharmacist (CSHP) Clinical Skills Competition in October 2021. He was commended by the CSHP because his case was unusually difficult, focused on a prenatal opioid dependent infant.
While at CHSU, Dr. Garofalo really enjoyed being out on pharmacy rotations and applying what he learned.
After graduation, he is pursuing a career as an ambulatory care pharmacist or as a hospital pharmacist. He made this decision after working with CHSU faculty member, Stanley Snowden, PharmD, during his rotations. He realized he really enjoyed patient interaction.
“During my ambulatory care rotation with Dr. Snowden, we would interview patients, have one and one interactions to augment their drug therapies and educate our patients, all under a collaborative practice agreement with physicians. Just having the autonomy to actually impact patients in a positive way…I was hooked on the patient relationship,” stated Dr. Garofalo.
He is also considering pharmacy leadership since he had an extensive career in management at Costco.
“I know how to effectively lead a team and create organizational goals for the benefit of both the business and those we serve. Leadership has always been attractive, but we’ll see where I land, just as long as I’m able to better the lives of my patients,” he adds.
The Graduation Ceremony to honor Dr. Anthony Garofalo and his peers in the CHSU College of Pharmacy Class of 2023 will be held Saturday, May 13, 2023. Dr. Garofalo received the CHSU Value award for Integrity.
The 2023 Grad Stories is a series dedicated to honoring our California Health Sciences University (CHSU) Doctor of Pharmacy graduates and showcasing their accomplishments throughout their time at CHSU while earning their PharmD degree.
