In April 2019, the second Remedy’sRx Legacy award was presented to Maria Anton, a first year pharmacy student.
“I’m so grateful to the KW Legacy group for supporting this award. It provides me financial stability which allows me to thrive in pharmacy school while also finding ways to enrich my community,” said Maria. “I also very much appreciate the lifelong learning opportunities that I will experience from the mentorship offered by the Legacy group.”
The KW Legacy group is formed of a group of friends who leverage their connections to support people looking for ways to make Waterloo Region a better place to live. They have grown up in the Region and deliver initiatives under the motto “good friends, greater deeds.” Since its inception in 2014, the KW Legacy group has given out 32 scholarships, supporting students in the region and providing mentorship.
The Remedy’sRx Legacy award recognizes a pharmacy student with strong academic achievement who has demonstrated a commitment to supporting their community through extracurricular and volunteer experiences.
Maria has a long track record of being engaged in the Region. For over three years, she has volunteered at Schlegel Villages helping older adults learn to use technology for tasks like searching for information or contacting loved ones.
“Volunteering at Schlegel is one of my most rewarding experiences – it’s been inspiring to share how technology can be a force for positive change in the lives of residents,” she says. “One gentleman I worked with had his left arm paralyzed due to a stroke, so we worked together to learn how to use voice dictation software to record thoughts and conduct Google searches.”
Maria has also been actively engaged in the campus community as the Vice-President of the Pre-Pharmacy Club and as a student ambassador for Marketing and Undergraduate Recruitment. In these various ways she shares her experiences with prospective students, and represents the University of Waterloo at recruitment events. In this role, she also had the opportunity to assist recent Nobel prize laureate Donna Strickland by providing administrative support.
These opportunities have enabled me to develop useful skills for being a student, while giving me the opportunity to help others. I'm grateful to have absorbed so many skills and tools that will continue to fuel my passion to help others and give back to the community.
As a recipient of the Remedy’sRx Legacy Award, Maria receives financial support for her pharmacy education and professional mentorship from the several pharmacists who are members of the Legacy group.