Prescription for Success: Adam Roskam’s Journey to Pharmacy Residency

Pharmacy school was always part of the plan for Adam Roskam ’20. “I saw pharmacy as a great combination of two of my favorite subjects: math and science. I also had a great influence in my hometown pharmacist,” said Roskam. His stepfather has Type 1 Diabetes and has been taking medications for the chronic illness since he was nine years old. Roskam was moved watching his hometown pharmacist always make sure his stepfather had the medications he needed.

Roskam’s dream is on the way to reality as he recently graduated with his doctorate from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) with a 4.0 GPA throughout his four years. This makes Roskam the fifteenth student in the last 100 years of UNMC history to graduate from this program with a 4.0 GPA.

When asked what helped Roskam be so successful in pharmacy school, he said, “I found my study habits early on during my first year of pharmacy, and they worked throughout my time there. Even as the coursework became harder, I already had strong study habits that I knew I could rely on. I was also fortunate enough to have an extremely supportive wife who put up with what felt like constant studying.”

Roskam met his wife, Grace Roskam ‘21, during his freshman year at Mount Marty, and the couple has been married now for three and half years. “I was originally drawn to Mount Marty University by the sense of community that was immediately present on my campus tour,” Roskam said. “I got to meet so many wonderful people who made Mount Marty feel like home. Having the opportunity to be involved in so many different organizations and groups was something that was so different from other places I was looking at, and it was what really made the choice so easy.”

Roskam is currently matched with UK HealthCare in Lexington, Kentucky, for his pharmacy residency. The matching process includes applications, interviews, and rankings. “I was going through all emotions during the match, but I was ecstatic to match with UK HealthCare because it had everything I was looking for in a program. ... The reason I chose UK HealthCare was the opportunity to practice at a large academic medical center ... [and to have] the opportunity to teach at one of the top pharmacy schools in the country.” He says he will get “to learn from pharmacists practicing at the top of their licenses who are well-respected in their different areas” and to provide lectures and facilitate lab sessions. The residency program will last two years with the first year being a general year where he gets to practice in all areas of the hospital. “The second year I plan to specialize in either cardiology or critical care pharmacy.”

Following residency, Roskam and his wife would like to move back to South Dakota to be closer to friends and family. But until then, Roskam will take the core values Mount Marty taught him into his practice at UK HealthCare. “Sense of community and life-long learning are things I hope to continue to work into my practice as a pharmacist. They were the reason I chose Mount Marty in the first place, so these are things I want to continue to practice in my day-to-day life.”

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ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and
graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.