College of Pharmacy students Logan Acker (third-year) and Lexi Baldinger (second-year) are also members of the Carolina Coquettes dance team, and they have an exciting trip coming up in November.
Along with the University of South Carolina Marching Band, they will be part of “The Mighty Sound of the Southeast” as it takes part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 28.
Logan, where are you from, how did you choose USC, and how did you become interested in Pharmacy?
Logan: I’m from Columbia, South Carolina, so USC has always been on my radar as my top school. I grew up going to Carolina football and basketball games. My parents were both Gamecocks, so it was already in my blood.
I had a friend who was a year older than me, and she was in the Gamecock Pharmacy Assurance Program. She sold it to me. I knew I was interested in health care, but I didn’t know if I wanted to do pre-med, pre-PA, or Dental. She got me interested in the pharmacy program, and I decided it sounded like a good fit for a six-year program. I did all my interviews, and that was the beginning of my Pharmacy journey.
What do you love about Pharmacy?
Logan: The flexibility that the career provided for me. I was afraid if I went into medical school that I would be completely locked into one thing for the rest of my life. I liked that with Pharmacy you could choose to change things up. Do a couple of years in a clinical setting and then transition into industry or academia, or whatever job suits you. I liked that you didn’t have to stick with just one thing, you could mix it up and do what’s best for that time in your life.
This event is why I stuck around for another year. The fact that we were going to Macy’s was too good to turn down.
Lexi, you’re from New York originally. Tell us a little more about yourself.
Lexi: I’m originally from Long Island, New York. I honestly had never heard of the University of South Carolina or knew anything about it growing up. When it was my junior year of high school, my older brother’s best friend went to school here, so he had mentioned it. I always knew I wanted to travel a little further from home for college and go somewhere warm, because it’s colder in New York. I came to visit my older brother’s friends here, but I still wasn’t sure.
My mom and my dad are both pharmacists. A lot of other members of my family are also pharmacists, so that career has always been in my view, but it was never pushed on me as a kid. When I visited the university, we saw that they had the College of Pharmacy, and my mom got excited. I have been dancing my whole life, and I knew I wanted to continue that in college. Knowing that South Carolina was a big football school was exciting for me.
When I was starting to consider the university more, the Gamecock Assurance program reached out, asking me to apply for Pharmacy school. I applied at the same time as auditioning for the Carolina Coquettes. It was funny, at the time I didn’t tell any of my friends at home I was auditioning. I surprised everyone when I committed to school here because I got into the Gamecock Assurance program and made it onto the Carolina Coquettes, so it all seemed like it was aligning on its own. With Pharmacy itself, although my mom never pressured me into it, being able to see her do it and not feeling forced to do it too made me like it even more. I always knew I wanted a career where I could help other people but not necessarily be a surgeon.
You both have very difficult schedules to manage between Pharmacy studies and training for being a Carolina Coquette. How do you balance your schedules?
Logan: We definitely have a lot on our plate as Coquettes, and it doesn’t just include practices.
We’re involved in a lot of performances, parades and Relay for Life, as well as appearances
on campus. I love that our Pharmacy school classes are all together throughout the
day. I know that for P1 and P2s, you have four hours in the morning plus or minus
some labs or extra classes, and then P3 later in the afternoon, really utilizes our
time well so you know what you have to accomplish before class or before practice.
I like to structure my day and just know what I have to knock off my list before I
even get to class or practice.
I’m a second-year captain for the Carolina Coquettes, and keeping a tight schedule
helps me. I’m a much better student and dancer when I know what I need to accomplish
instead of waiting around all day and letting them pile up. It keeps me motivated
to have a lot on my plate; I prefer it this way.
Lexi, how did you manage to pull together a schedule that balances your studies and your practice?
Lexi: Like Logan, I’ve always just been a very busy person. Throughout high school, I was
always on my kick-line team and then competitively danced. I was always jumping from
one thing to the next during the day.
Although it can be stressful at times, I feel like it pushes me to take a step away
from school, so my whole life isn’t just studying. It is different from undergrad,
where it was a lot easier to balance my schedule. Academics take up way more time
now, but it’s very possible to do both.
This will be my first time home for Thanksgiving in four years. I’m excited about that, and so is my mom. It’ll still be different because I’ll be alongside 300 other people in the Carolina band celebrating together.
What are you thinking about for your future careers?
Logan: My answer changes every year, like most people have experienced. Right now, I’m interested in a residency track. I’m interested in infectious disease or critical care. I love with ID that you can get a taste of all of that. I’ve been interested in industry, potentially Medical Science liaison positions. I’ve had the chance to talk to a couple of people in those roles, and it sounds like something that I would like to look toward.
Lexi: With so many people in my family being involved in Pharmacy, I’ve been able to see the different areas and be exposed to a few of the options. At the same time, it’s been hard since my older brother just graduated from the College of Pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island. I know I also want to be a pharmacist, but I want to find my fit. I don’t want to just do something because my older brother does it or my mom does it or my dad did it. I want to do it for me, but at the same time, I would love to one day have a pharmacy with my whole family.
I love business. Aside from Pharmacy, that was my favorite component in high school.
I’m looking to get more involved in that and see if I can take on a role in business
and pharmacy. I also like Veterinary Pharmacy, but that is an area that’s not necessarily
as familiar to me. I have to do a lot more research, but I’m still trying to see all
the different fields and not be closed-minded so I can really find the perfect fit.
Both of you will be taking part in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
What was your reaction when you found out that the band would be going to New York City?
Lexi: This will be my first time home for Thanksgiving in four years. I’m excited about that, and so is my mom. I’ve been lucky enough that for the past three years, my family would come to me for Thanksgiving. We always have the Clemson game that weekend, so it never made sense to go home during the short break. This year I’ll get to be home, although it’ll still be different because I’ll be alongside 300 other people in the Carolina band celebrating together.
Logan: This event is why I stuck around for another year. Last year was my senior year, and I thought that I would be done because P3 gets a little harder. Our classes are in the afternoon, and it seemed like a lot; working in pharmacy while being in school, trying to do everything that I needed to accomplish before starting P4, rotations and continuing dancing. But the fact that we were going to Macy’s was too good to turn down.
How has the college has been supportive?
Logan: All my teachers have been very flexible. We get out of class at 4:45, and I’m running to the bandfield to get there at 5 p.m., but they know that if I need to step out a couple of minutes early it’s to get to somewhere else on time. I’m sure they’ve been the same with Lexi, but the College of Pharmacy has been great with all aspects of accommodating us as dancers and as students.
What will the schedule in New York be like?
Logan: We’re riding on a bus up to New York, so that’s a full day trip Sunday. On Wednesday morning we’re scheduled to have a Today show performance. We have rehearsals with some of the other bands that are participating in the parade as well, so we’ll do a lot of rehearsing Wednesday and Tuesday.
We also have free time to explore the city. The Coquettes are looking into going to a Broadway show together as a team. The jury’s still out on which show we want to see, there’s a lot out there that we’re all super interested in. We also talked about coordinating a group dance class. The dance scene in New York City is incredible and very different than what it is here in Columbia. So maybe trying to get to Steps on Broadway or Broadway Dance Center.
On the day of the parade, we have an early morning wake-up. We are leaving the hotel at 2 a.m. on Thursday morning, we’ll be doing our run-through of the parade with the other bands and then we’ll go straight into a full run-through all 111 blocks down the streets of New York City. We have scheduled nap time after the parade, which is nice.
Lexi: Then it’s immediately back to South Carolina for Saturday’s game at Clemson.
Logan: They’re taking us to see the Radio City Rockettes on Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving dinner is going to be at Margaritaville in New York. We will have all 365 members of the Carolina band together for Thanksgiving dinner. Then Thursday night, Lexi’s right, straight to bed for us on the bus Friday, all day, all 12 to 14 hours on a bus, straight to Greenville so we can wake up nice and early for that Saturday morning drive to that school in the Upstate and play a football game.
And bring home a win.
Logan: We hope whatever we can do to help that we will try.
Gamecock Pharmacy Podcast host Margaret Gregory interviews experts in the College of Pharmacy at the University of South Carolina to explore the ways that pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists are improving health outcomes for residents of South Carolina and beyond. For more episodes, listen on YouTube, iHeart Radio or Spotify.