Shayla Siefker, a fifth-year Ohio Northern University pharmacy student from Ottoville, Ohio, was named the Northwest Ohio Pharmacists Association (NWOPA) Scholarship award-winner for the 2015-16 academic year.

NWOPA officials presented Siefker with a $750 scholarship award at an awards ceremony in Lima, on Jan. 28. Students were evaluated on several metrics, and judges blindly selected the winner from a pool of nine other finalists.

“I am very thankful to be chosen as the NWOPA scholarship recipient,” said Siefker. “I enjoyed meeting the pharmacists in NWOPA, and I am very appreciative of the generous award I received from them. The scholarship money will be put toward my pharmacy education.”

Dr. Patricia Parteleno, director of experiential education at Ohio Northern University’s Raabe College of Pharmacy, said, “Shayla works multiple part-time jobs to help pay for school while participating in numerous organizations on campus. Her work ethic, both in and out of the classroom, is very admirable. She deserves this award, and we know it will be put to good use as she pursues her career in the field of pharmacy.”

Siefker was recognized as a NCAA All-Academic in cross-country at Ohio Northern during her freshman year, and she was on the dean’s list during the 2014-15 academic year. Siefker is a 2017 PharmD candidate who will begin her Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences (APPEs) rotations this summer. She seeks to match into a residency program in hospital or ambulatory care after graduating from the pharmacy college at Ohio Northern University.