Some might think that working at or running a pharmacy is about prescriptions. According to Brad Bazo, 2012 Iola High School graduate, it’s about the most important ingredient of any medical related field, people.
“I enjoy the interaction with people who come in,” Bazo said. “Even if I wasn’t going to be working in a pharmacy I’d still be working something that lets me talk to people.”
Bazo however, is interested in not only working in the pharmacy field, but also eventually owning one. In moving into the pharmacy field, Bazo has had people along the way help him figure out what he wants to do after high school.
“Brad is one of the best students I had in terms of his grasp on science and math,” Marv Smith, retired Iola High School teacher, said. “The way he solves problems is very methodical and helps him to avoid mistakes. His ability to keep working through things like that also helped make him a great tutor for his fellow students. He would work with them until they understood it, not just got it done.”
The respect Smith displays runs both ways. Bazo credits Smith for helping him out along his path towards his dream.
“He helped me with all kinds of things,” Bazo said. “I mean all the different applications for schools, all the advice about how I go through figuring out things like that were so great. He’s a great teacher who really helped me and pushed me to be better.”
Starting next fall all the hard work in high school classrooms will carry over as Bazo prepares for classes at the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy. Bazo is preparing to take on a business minor as well. The classes will prepare him for his eventual dream of owning his own shop.
“I’d love to go back to a small town after I get done with classes in Lawrence and have a shop,” Bazo said. “I love Iola so in a perfect world I could come back here but I’m open to a lot of possibilities.”
Bazo’s field is people, not prescriptions
