Five Temple University School of Pharmacy students have been named as recipients of the annual Sam Maddula Scholarship awards. The 2025 winners are:
- Clarissa Abella, PharmD Class of 2026 - Abella is the founder and president of Students of Astounding Resilience (S.O.A.R.), Temple's first interprofessional organization addressing basic needs insecurity among graduate students. She serves as a co-host and producer of the Sowing Empowerment to Elevate Dreams (S.E.E.D.) podcast to share insights with under-mentored pharmacists and has volunteered her time with the Cherry Pantry and Phi Lambda Sigma. Abella is currently a research assistant at the Temple School of Pharmacy. She previously served as a pharmacy technician for Valley Health System and Walgreens and secured externships and internships with Haleon, Penn Medicine, and Pfizer.
- Hala Easmael, PharmD Class of 2026 - Easmael volunteers her time with Savage Sisters Recovery, Inc, in Philadelphia; Cherry Hill Free Clinic, in Cherry Hill, NJ; and CommUNITY, in Camden, NJ. Previously, she worked as an epidemiologist for the Burlington County Health Department, a pharmacy technician for Main Line Health, a notary public, and has secured three prestigious internships in different areas of the pharmacy profession. Easmael earned her MS in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from Rowan University, a BS in Biology and Biological Sciences from Rutgers University, and an AS in Biology from Rowan College at Burlington County.
- Jessica Kolora, PharmD Class of 2028 - Kolora has served as a Crisis Text Line volunteer since February 2024, where she assists individuals facing mental health challenges and connects them with appropriate resources for their specific situation. Previously, she served as a student ambassador for the IMPACT-Capacity Program to develop and deliver linguistically and culturally tailored stroke awareness education to racial and ethnic minority communities in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Kolora has also volunteered her time for organizations assisting middle and high school students interested in science and has led a clothing drive for individuals in need in the western region of Ghana since 2018. She earned her BS in Chemistry from Temple University.
- Christiana Korankya, PharmD Class of 2027 - Korankya has volunteered her time in the local community, focusing on delivering resources and health education for underserved communities in the Greater Philadelphia Region, She is an active participant in IMPACT-Capacity where she designed and delivered culturally tailored-community based stroke education. As a member of Lambda Kappa Sigma, she organized a community baby shower for young mothers in the city, focused on health education and resource distribution. She facilitates interactive health and medication literacy events as part of Building Healthy Pillars and hosted a hypertension awareness clinic in conjunction with the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association.
- Nkechi Utomi-Obichie, PharmD Class of 2026 - Utomi-Obichie has conducted stroke education and medication adherence sessions with Zion Baptist Church; hosted a stem and plasma cell drive; presented cancer prevention education sessions for members of the community; executed a flu and pneumonia vaccine clinic in conjunction with Skippack Pharmacy; and moderated a week-long trivia program for Breast Cancer Awareness Week. She has served as a graduate assistant at Temple University, a pharmacy intern at Temple University Hospital and is the National Public Relations Liaison for the Student National Pharmaceutical Association. She previously earned her BS in biology from New Mexico Highlands University.
Established by Sam Maddula, PharmD, founder and CEO of Workshop Strategy, the scholarship program strives to assist students from environmentally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Students are nominated by faculty, staff and students at Temple University School of Pharmacy. The winners are highly motivated students enrolled in the PharmD program who have demonstrated leadership qualities and a commitment to serving medically underserved communities.