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Mariam Ali
I interviewed Mariam Ali, who is a pharmacist at Wal-Mart. She was born in Pakistan. -
Moved to U.S
She moved to United States with her family when she was 18, and she enrolled in college. She had the passion to study but was unsure about her major.
She quickly assimilated to the U.S culture, and made friends in college. After two years, she received Associates Degree in Science. -
1998
Her parents decided to get her married at 21. It wasn’t a culture tradition but more like her family’s tradition to get married at a young age. In the beginning, she did not want to get married but her parents slightly pressured her. It was not a typical arranged marriage which happens in Pakistani families, because she was familiar with the guy. He lived in Pakistan and was her Dad’s friends’ son. They started to get to know each other only 2-3 weeks before the wedding. -
1999
She went to Pakistan to get married. After marriage, she stayed there with in-laws for almost a year. She came back to U.S with her husband, who was an engineer. He found a job and started working, and she stayed home like a housewife. She did not like being a house wife, for boredom was to a great extent. Few months later she was expecting. -
2002
She had a baby boy. Shortly after, her husband left her resulting in divorce. They could not handle the marriage because they had different opinions, which resulted in everyday fights. It was becoming really difficult to support her baby alone financially and physically. So, she went back to her parents' house. She knew she had to do something with her life and move on. She decided to pursue a career as a pharmacist to start again. -
2003
She got accepted into pharmacy school. While she was in pharmacy school, her mother took care of her son. -
2007
She graduated pharmacy school and got employed at Wal-Mart. -
Role of a pharmacist
Her role as a pharmacist is to dispense medicine accurately by making sure there are no drug interactions, advise patients on the use of prescription, to consult and educate patients on over the counter drugs. They also have the authority to give flu shots, deal with various types of insurance and provide patients with customer service by answering any of their concerns regarding the drugs -
Important events
Two of her important events of her life are graduating from pharmacy school and giving birth to her baby boy. To her, being a successful person means to follow dreams, achieve goals and be independent. -
Failure
Her big failure was her marriage. An advice that she gave me was to follow my dream, and be educated. Also, Do not be dependent on anyone. She said it is very important to make your own identity, which will define you. -
School
She attended Midwestern pharmacy school and loved it. Living near her school gave her some extra time to spend with her son. Her teachers were sometimes flexible and were great help. They understood how hard it can be to take care of a child and study at the same time. -
Hardest thing
Her divorce was the hardest thing she had to face and deciding how she can take care of her son. Her greatest achievement in her life is becoming a pharmacist and knowing that being a single mom is tough but she can do it with help of family -
Passion
Some of the other things she’s passionate about is gardening, volunteering, cooking and helping elderly patients. She sometimes goes to elderly patient’s house to deliver prescriptions when they don’t have access to transportation. -
Reason I choose
The reason why I choose a pharmacist to do my change agent interview is because I want to become a pharmacist. I thought this would be a best way to interact with them and get to know the different responsibilities and to see if I can imagine myself doing their job. -
Future goal
At the moment, she is trying to promote to a pharmacy manager. -
End
I think as an adult with one child, it becomes difficult to attend school. But nothing is impossible. Sometimes things may get tough, but there is always a solution to problems. -
Something in common
I thought interviewing the pharmacist and asking her some personal questions would make her feel akward. But she did not hesitate to answer any of my questions. I think me being a Indian who speaks Urdu and her being Pakistani who also speaks Urdu was something that we had in common. -
Difference
I think teachers makes a big difference in students' life, especially when school is like a second home, where they spend most of their time. Some students consider their teachers role models, mine was Ms.Christine Skarr, my ESL teacher. When I first moved here, and attended high school, I remember I felt like I don't belong here because everything was so different than my old school. I was very shy but she helped me talk to other classmates and I started making friends. She personally guided