Cecilia Perez said she knew the moment she toured the American Career College-Ontario campus, she had found her school.
"I fell in love with it instantly. It just looked like a place where you can learn and grow as a person, not only professionally but personal growth as well," Perez said. "I saw how students interacted with the teachers and instructors and I just thought it was a great place to be."
What she didn't realize, Perez said, was how quickly it would be over. Less than nine months after enrolling in the pharmacy technician program, Perez had completed her classroom training and was headed to her externship.
Perez said she became fascinated by medication as a child, watching her mother take countless different prescriptions during a long illness. Now, Perez said, she takes pride in knowing what each medication does, its proper dosage, what drugs it interacts with and more.
"People think being a pharmacy technician is just medication counting, but it's way more than that," she said.
If asked for advice, Perez said she would tell new students to prepare themselves for a big change while attending ACC. She wished someone had told her that, she said with a laugh.
"I was not ready for that. I was expecting to just be like 'Hey, I started my school and it's fun,' but I did a lot of growing here," she said. "Come here ready to learn and be excited. And just embrace it."
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What things do you need at school to make it through the day?
My books, my calculator and ... a pen. I'm lying. You need a pen the most. If I don't have a pen, I feel like "What am I gonna do?"
Do you have a favorite pen? It sounds like you do.
The Bic Atlantis. I love it -- it writes so smooth! It's so easy to write with. It's my favorite pen. If I lose it, I go crazy. If someone borrows it, I'm hunting them down. I'm like, "Where's my pen?"
What were you doing before being in school?
I worked in warehouses. I know how to drive pretty much all the forklifts, so it was time for a change. Something better. Nobody wants to be in warehouses all their life.
Why did you choose the pharmacy technician program?
I was a medical assistant when I was about 19. It wasn't for me but I still wanted to be in the medical field. My mom was always sick when we were younger. She always had taken all these medications and I never knew anything about it but I always was curious. There's so much information that I want to know about it and I still love to know about it. Medication doesn't just stop with what we learn here. There are new drugs always coming out, new technology, so it's just very interesting to me all the time.
Did you ever want to quit?
Actually, no. Never. The minute I decided I wanted to come to school was the moment I knew that there was never a time to give up. I was going to do this full force and there was nothing going to stop me at that point.
What were your instructors like at ACC?
They are so inspiring. They want you to do your best. They just help you to grow, to become a better person in their field. And they have so much experience themselves, so when you talk to them you know you're listening to something real, where you're like, "Alright, this is where I need to be. This is inspirational. I need to do what they did." ACC instructors helped me get ready, to be where I'm at right now.
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