Solidly planning out the future is not always the best because things will change in life, and that is okay. Dr. Susan Meyer, the presenter at the annual Sebok Lecture on Feb. 21, gave this message at her lecture titled, “Where’s the Fun in a Crystal Ball?”
The Sebok lecture is an annual lecture the occurs at the end of pharmacy week. Every year, a new speaker comes in and gives a speech about current events in the pharmacy world. This year was very different though; Dr. Meyer talked less about a current event but rather a lifestyle intended always needed to advance further in everyone’s career.
A rhetorical question is meant to drive the audience’s focus to investigate the future. Dr. Meyer asked: what would be the fun in life if we knew every that was going to happen? Her answer was more complex than there just being no fun, she talked about how planning is important but being flexible should be the goal. She compared life to that of a Lego set; everything is built according to a plan, but the creator can change things on a whim.
Dr. Meyer is an alumnus of ONU’s College of Pharmacy and is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Pharmacy. She has achieved several accolades throughout her career such as becoming the president of the Rho Chi Society, one of the biggest pharmaceutical academic honors societies, as well as the Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award which is essentially the biggest honor a person could receive in the academic field of pharmacy.
The lecture as always was a massive success, the Freed center seating was filled entirely up as student and faculty flooded in to listen to Dr. Meyer’s lecture. Haley Kessinger, a third-year public health student said “The profession is always advancing, and you cannot set a strict path because life happens, and situations change. You must be willing to mold or adjust your plans for every new opportunity. These messages will stick with me.” The meaning behind Dr. Meyer certainly imprinted onto the students.