So could you tell me how you got into Pharmacy and Business — and what drives your passion?

First about pharmacy, it is a growing industry. The way how I look at is the future of our healthcare; it will become more drug-based and machine-based than it has been in the past, whereas in the past, the doctors took care of you in-person. It is a challenging industry because it holds a lot of power, especially concerning peoples’ lives. On the other hand, business is incredibly interesting because it plays a lot of role in our daily lives — although not many may realize it. The reason why pharmaceutical is important is because it is still a business yet it holds a lot of ethical responsibilities as a health provider. I am interested in going into the pharmaceutical business because it practices my two passions.

How does business connect to health and sciences?

Well, looking at it from just its surface, it’s hard to see that the healthcare industry is essentially just another business. For instance, pharmaceuticals, you hire researchers and pay salaries for them to find a cure for certain diseases. But the catch is, you wouldn’t want to pay them if you know that their research or drugs that they are making won’t give you profit. So, it’s funny because you have sick people but some people are sick with rare diseases — so should they be exempted because they are not profitable? Isn’t ironic that we have to make that kind of decision [?] A progress in a pharmaceutical industry is not the same as other businesses where it’s less of a risk — you have to make incredibly hard, morally challenging decisions and take a lot of risks. Sure, technologies you have some ideas, but your cost won’t hurt people.

What are some issues that you have observed from American healthcare?

Biggest issue is that not everyone can afford healthcare. It should be basic human rights — if anything, everyone should be able to get insurance and healthcare regardless of their income. They should have the rights to life.

And, what about business?

Obviously, greed. Honestly the biggest issue is that the rich can stay rich in this country. When economy fails, the government doesn’t provide a safety net for the lower and middle class to support their financial needs. The rich people in this country have enough investments and stocks everywhere else, so when the economy fails, they still have all these opportunities to recover. America is good at growing businesses but not cleaning up after economic downfalls.

What should we do to change those issues?

I can’t say I have the answers to that. There are many hypothetical ways to do that.

Why do you think health and sciences are so popular today?

It’s always been that way, in my opinion. Trying to live a longer and better life is not something that is new to us. Our biological instinct is to survive, and I just believe that people look towards the health fields to provide that for them.

Do you think science has become a religion?

It’s already a religion in a way. People blindly will believe what scientists will say. For example, my good friend (anonymous) is a hardcore republican. He would never talk about something or idea that is liberal — but recently, there was an article online about one physicist that basically said that carbon dioxide is not harmful to the environment and that President Obama “took the wrong side” on the environmental issues. He basically denied that global warming was happening. There were no scientific graphs or evidence to support the author’s argument. My friend posted this [article] on Facebook bashing Obama and bashing progressive policies that protects our environment. That just shows the power of a scientist who had a great reputation — and, how he could influence one person’s entire opinion on the environmental issue. That’s what I mean by people become blind to evidence. If we continue to think that scientists are right because they suggest something on a newspaper article, we will become blind to how science works. Science is about evidences, and unless there are multiple, strong evidences to suggest something, it is difficult to declare anything. Unless the general public understands how science works, they will continue to be blind to what the evidences are suggesting–but just believe anything a scientist says.

What was the best and most meaningful class (that also motivated you to pursue in the field)?

Probably “Biomedical Ethics” and Biology II. “Biomedical Ethics” contributed a lot to my interest in the morally right and wrong decisions that pharmaceutical businesses should make. And Biology II was a huge factor in pursuing economics. I saw how the principles of economics plays in understanding the biological nature of human beings.

What makes you happy?

Being inspired by something unexpectedly. Like a movie that leaves an impression or a book that leaves me thinking afterwards. It’s like making a discovery and I become invested in what this new excitement can bring.