"I was a 17-year-old Asian high school girl who knew nothing when I attended a Neumann open house. I walked up to Dr. Mac Given, dean of Arts and Sciences, and said, 'I'm going to be in your pharmacy program.'"

More than six years later, Kim Quynh Tran is about to graduate from Duquesne University with a Pharm.D. degree. Her Pittsburgh graduation is scheduled for May 21. She is the first student to take advantage of Neumann's accelerated 2+4 pharmacy program with Duquesne.

Kim knew that she was interested in pharmacy from her days as a student at Upper Darby High School. "I looked into all the pharmacy programs in the area," she recalls. "I wanted a small school that was close to home, and Neumann was a perfect fit."

Her decision was made easier because Neumann is so affordable. "I tell everyone I know that I spent just $5,000 a year to attend Neumann." Her financial aid package made NU tuition very attractive and impresses her friends in the pharmacy program.

Her first three years at Duquesne involved rigorous academics, and her last year has been a series of three clinical rotations, the most recent at Hershey Medical Center. Now, after six years of hard work, Kim has an extremely promising post-graduation career path. She has already been offered a position as a staff pharmacist at a Rite Aid in Upper Darby.

She easily recalls her most vivid memory of Neumann's "uniquely personal" promise. "I had to pass the PCAT test to complete the requirements for Duquesne, but I didn't have the book to prepare for the test. Dr. Given bought the book and let me use it."

In a recent email to Dr. Given, Kim wrote, "I just want to say thank you for the opportunity that you've given me and the encouragement over the first two years that I was at Neumann. In a lot of ways, you have positively impacted my life, and words cannot describe how appreciative I am."

The 2+4 pharmacy agreement is a six-year doctorate program leading to the doctor of pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree.  The program allows academically qualified students to attend Neumann University for two years of pre-pharmacy course work before transferring to the Duquesne University Mylan School of Pharmacy. Because of the special affiliation with Duquesne, students who successfully complete the two-year program at Neumann are given preferential consideration for admission to the professional phase of the doctor of pharmacy program.