July 13, 2020, by ZY
Alumni Testimonial: Gan Shang Yen (2019)
3 years ago, I barged into this place. Cluelessly, not knowing what’s ahead of me.
3 years later, here I dressed in a robe, beaming in triumph, savouring the fruits of my labour.
As a First-class degree holder of BSc (Hons) Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences in 2019, my 3-year study in University of Nottingham Malaysia was one of the best experiences of my life. Not only are the exceptional programs and teaching methodologies backed by laboratory skills and theoretical knowledges in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and human physiology, but also it brought clarity of thoughts, confidence, courage and ambition to me and my future career goals.
Finally, one month after I finished my finals, I landed my first job at Sanofi-Aventis as a marketing intern. I never really thought that one day I will be working in a totally different working environment other than lab, but I guess that’s because I always love to explore new things that I’ve never been exposed to, especially on how drug business works in this world. At first, I was told that I should have looked for a permanent position other than just an internship to secure my career after finishing my degree, but I am not really that kind of person who choose to “play safe” along my career path. I believe that bright future will eventually knock at your door if you push yourself harder right at that moment. Thanks to this 6-month long internship experience in marketing, I really am grateful that I finally got a place at my dream company, Pfizer Upjohn (a division of Pfizer) with greater responsibility as a marketing executive in cardiovascular team.
During my six-month career journey (and still counting) at Pfizer Upjohn, my roles are mainly to coordinate annual marketing plans and projects, host marketing campaigns and events to increase brand awareness, analyse our sales performance, refine or work out several new promotional materials for the field force to promote our brand and products. I am really thankful to be given the opportunity to take lead a digital patient assistance program that enables the patients to take control of their health and support them on treatment continuity and adherence. Although I am no longer working in a lab environment, however the teamwork and communication skills that I had learnt back in my university time had equipped me to work harmonically and effectively with my lovely colleagues. Creativity is the key when dealing with this job; which I think this 3-year program had trained me to think out of the box at all times. It made me realized that learning environment makes it different, so is the case of UNM Pharmacy School.
Sometimes I just kept wondering what does “success” mean to me. As soon as I stepped into the society, there is only one success: live your life the way you want to. Though humble our beginnings may seem, let our future be endowed with prosperity.
Au revoir.
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