Commencement 2022 profile: Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins hasn’t been the typical pharmacy student.

To start with, he’s nearly 20 years older than most of his fellow graduates. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Syracuse University, as well as one in music industry from SUNY Oneonta. Add to that, his employment history includes working in research, construction, at an animal hospital, doing freelance audio work and teaching guitar. As the son of a 20-year Air Force veteran, he also spent most of his childhood overseas.

“I came to a point where I knew I needed to figure out what I’m doing with my life,” he said when asked about his decision to pursue pharmacy as a career.

When the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences opened up literally a block from his apartment, he threw himself into his new life.

“It was pretty much full bore from the time I decided to apply in early 2018,” he said. “I was getting ready to take the PCAT, working full time and a taking a couple courses over the summer. It was non-stop until winter break, but it got easier once I actually started school and wasn’t working full time anymore. Then I was able to focus completely on school.

“I guess I stumbled into so many things since I started pharmacy school, pharmacy school being one of them,” Hopkins said. “I was somebody who 6 or 7 years ago didn’t go out of my comfort zone or take chances. Now, I’m more willing to put myself out there and see what happens.”

He and fellow student Tony Feng paired up to compete in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Local Clinical Skills Competition placing second in 2020 and winning in 2021. “I was just trying to fill a co-curricular requirement,” he said. “As P3s (third-year students), we finished second, and were able to represent Binghamton in the New York State Council of Health-System Pharmacists student clinical skills competition. We went into it with the attitude of, ‘Let’s just have some fun,’ and we ended up winning. Tony is an extremely smart guy, and we complimented each other’s knowledge nicely and really worked well as a team.” By winning the ASHP local competition this past year, Feng and Hopkins were able to represent Binghamton University at the ASHP National Clinical Skills Competition held at the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting.

Up next for Hopkins is a PGY-1 (post-graduate year one) residency at Highland Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., where he’ll spend the next year honing his skills as a pharmacist. After that, he’ll decide whether he wants to try for a second year of residency to specialize in a particular area.

“Applying for a residency is stressful, but manageable as long as you start early,” Hopkins said. “You really start getting into writing and rewriting your letters; double, triple and quadruple checking everything you sent in; and lamenting the choices you wished you had made earlier!” he added. “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and maybe added a little unnecessary stress, but when you’re trying to get that next phase of your life started — and it’s really what you want to do — the thought of not landing that residency or job can be pretty stressful.”

Sarah Spinler, professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, said she has known Hopkins as a top academic student who is comfortable with himself. She has mentored him occasionally along his career path.

“It’s not just about being a top academic student when applying for a residency,” she said. “That doesn’t get you selected. When I was speaking with him, he’s sometimes so laid back that his drive and goals wouldn’t always come through. On the coaching side, I encouraged him to be clear about what he wants to fulfill.

“Anyone who has worked with him would love continuing to work with him,” she added. “I think we’re lucky and, once he’s finished his training, anyone would be lucky to have him as a colleague.”

“Since the match [for his residency] I’m a bit of a different person,” Hopkins admitted. “I’m relieved and a little of the stress is gone, but there are still a lot of hurdles to clear.”

In addition to being an avid student, Hopkins hopes to be a teacher someday as well and has tutored other pharmacy students since his P2 year. “I really enjoy the teacher-student relationship, or in a less formal way, I like sharing what I know with others,” Hopkins said. “It’s awesome when the student wants to learn and puts in the effort, and you see them progress. I’m looking forward to that as part of my residency with the potential to precept some pharmacy students and get teaching certification for the future.”

And even though he is on a pharmacy path, Hopkins hasn’t left all of his earlier lives behind. He’s greeted by his three cats, Christmas, LJ and Lola when he walks in the door of his apartment. “When I worked at the animal hospital, it was also a cat sanctuary and it wasn’t uncommon for me to bring home the senior cats,” he said.

“I’ve also been a musician since high school, starting as a guitar player and then moving to electric bass about 15 years ago,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of freelance audio stuff with a recording studio locally, a little session stuff playing for local artists. Prior to the pandemic and pharmacy school, I was in a country band for a while. It was a lot of fun and I still play with them once a year now at a local breast cancer benefit. I’m hoping to come back and play with them this year and hope to get back to that life again sometime.”

Hopkins will also miss his fellow students.

“I’m really very thrilled to be part of this class,” he said. “It’s full of amazing future practitioners and I’m proud of the way our class responded during the pandemic, spending a lot of time providing vaccinations and so many of them still going into work throughout the pandemic. I can’t say enough about the character of this class.

“The environment at the school is very positive and nurturing,” Hopkins added. “From faculty and students as well. We’re always helping each other out. There is always someone to ask and the faculty bring a certain energy to the program. Everyone is supportive with the attitude that we’re all going to get through this together. I enjoy being a part of it.”

But now, looking to his future, Hopkins is leaning toward a PGY2 (post-graduate year two) residency in emergency medicine. “I haven’t had a lot of that experience but I saw a bit of it and really liked it, as well as toxicology,” he said. “I’ve learned to keep my options open. Every time I start something new, I’m interested. You never know where your opportunities are going to arise.”