Sahani de Silva graduated from Jefferson's Doctor of Pharmacy program in 2025.
In Sahani de Silva’s undergrad years, she planned to do a pre-med track and eventually attend medical school. A pharmacology course gave her second thoughts.
“I fell in love with it,” she says. “I thought, ‘I want to impact patients and still be in health care, but maybe the medical degree route isn’t for me.’”
To be certain, de Silva worked at an in-patient pharmacy for two years. That job sealed the deal, and she enrolled at the College of Pharmacy.
“I chose Jefferson because they have a heavy clinical focus and patient-centered care,” she says. “It steered me in the right direction to achieve my goal of getting a residency and working in hospital pharmacy.”
De Silva matched at her No. 1 residency choice, the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Calif.—the Central Valley’s only level 1 trauma center.
From the Class of 2025, 13 pharmacy students—including de Silva—matched at residency programs and three additional students accepted fellowships. Postgraduate training isn’t required to practice as a pharmacist, but it may springboard students’ careers, giving them advanced skills in management and complicated drug therapy.
Looking back at her time at Jefferson, de Silva says she will most remember the connections made.
“We have a small class,” she says. “These are the people you will enter the workforce with and be friends and colleagues with for the rest of your life. The relationships I formed here were very important, and I’ll carry those with me.”