“...I cried the night pharmalympics ended…” - Amanda, Team Astra
Leadership can be daunting and requires a lot of sacrifice; even though it comes with its perks, the choice to take up a leadership role is courageous, which requires strength and readiness to work. In PANS politics, there's nothing like Emilokan. Everyone has to show proper workings, and this is exactly what team Astra has done in the last year.
They gave us PlutoRave, Pharmalympics, Actualize Health Week, Pharmathon, FOP pre-show, and so much more! You can keep your A+ for God, but haba give them their A. They've done well.
On today's episode of Humans of Pharmacy, we interviewed some PANS excos; you will be surprised how big the shoulders are that you have relied on for the past year;
Cosmos, Financial Secretary ‘23/24
Being PANS finance guy, no money moves in PANS without passing through you. You must be powerful. What's the day-to-day of this like? And how did it feel handling and directing the large sums of association money for the first time?
I started out by using the normal Microsoft Excel, setting things up till it became closer to the first congress. I remember presenting what I had to the President, and she made me realize I hadn’t even started my journey. I had to unlearn and relearn my digital skills. In fact, I watched tons of YouTube videos, and I also sought out help and advice from friends who had these skills.
In the space of one month, I had already mastered some simple skills, especially when it came to simple arithmetics. I am glad I got help. The President had to reject my reports at least three times before I could come up with an acceptable one.
To keep receipts, I created a Google Drive where I could easily store receipts with descriptions that trigger one's memory about what exactly the money was spent for. I also remember informing all excos about my decision to discourage cash payments completely except when necessary, as they were quite difficult to track.
When making plans for the tenure, I had to do away with a “scarcity mindset” and take a leap of faith. If we decide to run activities with only what we have, we will have zero impact on pansites. The same pansites that are the focus of everything we’re doing. Hence, when each office created their budgets, it was elaborate enough to cover the needs of pansites even if we knew clearly that the PANS dues won’t be able to cover it.
It is also good to note that we increased PANS dues by 40%. Of course, this caused an uproar among pansites, but we compared the current inflation in the economy with what we were receiving before making that decision. Believe me, even the increment wasn’t able to cover 20% of PANSites’ needs.
I think the next most difficult aspect of being the Financial Secretary is Fundraising. I created a fundraising team comprising members of each class. Trust me, it was difficult to get everyone on board. Nonetheless, I took up the reigns of service. I attended various seminars, the PANS National Convention, and PharmaWest Africa to meet new people, get new contacts, and create useful relationships. I joined the President and Vice-President for various courtesy visits and presentations.
In fact, there was this fateful day; we were drenched in the rain while trying to go to the next location to submit our letters. At some point, all we got were negative responses, but we learned from our mistakes and started tailoring our proposals to meet each company's needs, and this was the game changer for us.
All in all, I prayed a lot concerning my plans and duties. Without the help of Allah(SWT), I wouldn’t have come this far. There’s no way you’d assume a position in PANS and leave the same way.
Amanda, Sports Secretary ‘23/24
Everyone can agree that this year’s Pharmalympics was a success, thank God! What’s one thing about Pharmalympics you’re most grateful for and how would you say heading the planning and execution of Pharmalympics changed how you see sporting events?
I am grateful to the PANS president and my fellow executives who cleared the path for me and made things easier. I am grateful to the Senate House as well, who turned up for me and made sure I was in line. Lastly, I am immensely grateful to every PANSITE that came out cause without them, there would be nothing like “pharmalympics” to start with.
From a young age, I always thought of sporting events as one of the most fun and straightforward ways to bring people together. I mean, just gather some folks, get a ball, and play, right? Oh, not so fast! Serving as the sports secretary for the year 2023/2024 taught me lessons I will cherish for a lifetime.
One of the most important things I gained is that, regardless of the event, be it sports or a church gathering, immense planning goes into making it successful. I learned the importance of delegation and the necessity of having the right team. I was incredibly fortunate to work with the best sports team imaginable, people so dedicated they would practically move mountains with me to get the job done. Their commitment fired a spirit in me to endlessly love to work.
Another thing was learning to consider every single idea, no matter how small it might seem. In fact, this is the most important thing to do when working with a team.
Each person I worked with taught me something valuable, making the journey truly unforgettable. It gave me so much joy to see that my team members could always text or call me at any time of the day to tell me anything or give me advice.
Reflecting on this experience fills me with so much gratitude. I truly cried the night pharmalympics ended because I was very glad that pansites loved the event wholeheartedly. Maybe that’s why I want to work more and do more.
Nifesimi, PANS President ‘23/24
You’re the first female president of PANS in over a decade! How does this feel? What were the unique challenges and opportunities that came as a result of this? If you were to give advice to female pansites who are afraid to go into politics, what would it be?
Being the first female PANS President in over a decade feels amazing. It's a great honor to serve PANSites for two consecutive tenures. Two of the biggest challenges I faced were managing a team with different people and acting as an intermediary between the students and the Faculty/School management. Balancing these responsibilities was demanding but also rewarding.
This position has provided numerous opportunities and it has expanded my network. I've had the chance to engage with industry leaders in Pharmacy, which opened doors to potential job opportunities and career growth. I also met professionals I call my role models, people doing so well in the industry, they've been a blessing indeed.
For female PANSites considering politics, my advice is to believe in yourself. Mistakes are part of the journey, so learn from them and don't beat yourself over it. Don't be intimidated by the responsibilities that come with this role. If I could do it, you can too, and even better. Start by understanding your strengths and weaknesses, find roles that align with your strengths, and seek a mentor or role model for guidance.
Peace, General Secretary ‘23/24
As the general secretary, you had to write letters, and proposals, and keep minutes of many excos meetings. Which letter/proposal/exco meeting would you way had the greatest impact on you and why? How would you compare your expectations prior to your experience?
I will say that every letter, proposal, and meeting I had was significant in its own littlest of ways. However, if I were to pick, it would be a meeting that was held within the Excos House. It's no news that as the General Secretary, I must be a conflict resolver within the house and mediate for peace. In any gathering of people, contrasting opinions and disagreements will always arise.
So at this meeting, there was a major problem amongst some Excos and it was a pretty big one (well I can't say what it was but you get the picture). Things were getting rather heated, voices being raised and all sorts. I had to step in to ensure all affected parties had the opportunity to talk and finally gave my advice. Not to bore you, it got resolved and everyone was cool again.
I selected this because it was such an eye-opening experience for me. As someone who doesn't like talking or being in the middle of things, I had to take up that role and in a way it aided how I interacted with people going forward. I see the aftereffects in my conversations today.
Reflecting on my experience as General Secretary, it exceeded my expectations in terms of the breadth of responsibilities I had to carry on. It was a lot, I won't lie. There were times I felt like giving up the role to return to my quiet life. The amount of work demanding my attention was super frustrating, and I felt like there was little or no time left for me.
I became a point of contact to people seeking help or advice. I had to memorize a lot of names and faces (I still struggle with that, so pardon me if I meet you and I seem lost. It's nothing personal). I had to set up meetings and speak to representatives of companies and stakeholders.
The role shaped my view on leadership, effective communication, decision-making, diplomacy, time management, teamwork, etc. I grew as a person, and I am glad I did so with the awesome people on my team. So yeah, it was a challenging yet rewarding role.
Tochukwu, Welfare Secretary ‘23/24
We can safely say you’re the exco with the most popular manifesto, many people did not take you seriously for a very long time, how were you able to change this view, and if you were to go back in time would you change anything about your manifesto?
Haha, my manifesto was quite something.
Some people saw it as being unserious but I had my reasons; the role of a welfare secretary has been largely obscure and I needed some way to change that, everyone should at least know the person in charge of their welfare.
I was very confident that I would deliver, irrespective of what anyone said or thought. Simply put, I walk the talk. I also felt it was easier to lower people’s expectations and then surprise them along the way, which is why I never made promises but only executed my plans.
I did execute a lot of my plans, apart from the obvious ones like the mentor-mentee program and PANS tutorials all which would never have been possible without the support of my team, I also sponsored the breakfast of attendees of the two PANS national symposia, donated the PANS unilag first aid box and ensured regular refill of the drugs.
Furthermore, I donated to indigent pansites who were unable to complete their fees and some pansites who needed to meet up to the minimum fee for docket generation, donated the PANS public address system that we use for almost all our events and supported Pharmalympics and the upcoming PANS dinner financially, all these personal donations summed up to over a million naira (₦1,000,000).
There is more that I cannot really remember at the moment and more that I will still do. (Stay tuned :) )If I were to go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing about my manifesto. It’s one thing to promise and another to deliver. I’m happy that I was able to touch many lives.
Ekene, Social Secretary ‘23/24
What's the craziest thing you discovered about the culture of partying among pharmacy students? If you were to go back in time to change anything in your tenure what would it be & why (handy advice for successor).
I became social secretary on the advice and encouragement of my friends, they made me realize that I know to gather people together and have a good time.
Regarding the culture of partying among pharmacy students, firstly, I want to say that Pansites love a good party and know how to party. From Pluto rave to FOP preshow, it's our events other faculties look forward to. But you see, what pansites really need is ginger, i.e, you have to be able to convince them that the party is going to be lit.
They may seem uninterested at first due to reasons like academics and approaching in-courses, but once they are convinced by loud publicity and promotion, like top-notch content creation, they will surely pull up.
Like I said, Pansites love a good party, it is usually a time for them to rewind so you have to really assure them that it will be worth their while. I have seen a few crazy things at PANS parties and it's almost like you can't reconcile the person in class with the person at the party, a person dancing atop a table, another with his shirt off, it's usually crazy but fun and that's what we love!
To my successor, the hints of a good PANS party are consideration of all levels and their forthcoming incourses so that the party is not set around their incourse dates, top notch promotion of the party, and overall being very positive because regardless of how it looks at the beginning, know that PANSites will always turn up.
I am grateful to my team, fellow excos and most especially, my assistant and I am glad that that we were able to give PANSites a good time during my time as social secretary.
…
If you have read up to this point, you are a star and we should give you chilled Live It Up water! You have read through and can now properly appreciate the diligence of our Excos in giving us a wholesome experience in the 2023/24 session, sure there has been ups and downs, but what is life without a few thorns? We commend Team Astra for their exceptionality and doggedness!
Any thoughts? Comment below. Like and share as usual!
Well done, team Astra 🎉