Becoming What You Didn't See

What does it take to build something you've never seen before?

In this episode of Success in Doses: Becoming on Purpose, I sit down with pharmacist, entrepreneur, author, and pharmacy owner Dr. Jade Ranger for an honest conversation about courage, entrepreneurship, representation, and the resilience required to build something from the ground up.

Together with her husband, Dr. Henry Ranger, Jade co-founded The Prescription Shoppe, an independent pharmacy created with one goal in mind: bringing patient-centered care back to the heart of the community. Today, they're also helping other aspiring pharmacy owners navigate the path they once had to figure out on their own.

But this conversation goes far beyond pharmacy ownership.

Jade shares how she overcame self-doubt in pharmacy school, why fear never completely disappears, what it means to intentionally create opportunities for others, and why representation isn't simply about visibility. It's about making sure someone else can see what's possible.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Overcoming self-doubt in pharmacy school
• Building an independent pharmacy from scratch
• The realities of entrepreneurship and leading a growing team
• Why representation matters in healthcare
• Creating opportunities for future Black pharmacy owners
• The importance of mentorship and lifting others as you climb
• Leading with purpose instead of fear
• Why waiting until you're "ready" keeps many people from pursuing their dreams

Whether you're a pharmacy student, entrepreneur, healthcare professional, or someone preparing to build something that doesn't yet exist, this conversation will challenge you to move forward even when the path isn't clear.

Because sometimes becoming who you're meant to be means becoming what you've never had the opportunity to see.

Connect with Dr. Jade Ranger
Follow Dr. Jade Ranger on LinkedIn and Instagram to learn more about her work, The Prescription Shoppe, and Ranger Consulting.

www.tpsva.com

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and Share to help more people discover these conversations about leadership, purpose, and becoming on purpose.

#SuccessInDoses #JadeRanger #IndependentPharmacy #PharmacyOwnership #Entrepreneurship #Pharmacist #Leadership #RepresentationMatters #BlackPharmacists #WomenInLeadership #HealthcareLeadership #Mentorship #SmallBusiness #CommunityPharmacy #BecomingOnPurpose

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career advancement, negotiation skills, pharmacists, personal development, confidence, asking for what you want, mindset shifts, professional growth, self-advocacy, boldness

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Successive Doses. I'm your host, Sale. This podcast is about the real journeys behind meaningful careers, the benefits, the risks, the moments of doubt, and the lessons that shape the whole media. Each episode, I sit down with people who are building impactful lives and careers, and we break down the experiences that help them get there. Because success rarely happens overnight, it happens in doses. Let's dive in on becoming on purpose. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Success in Doses Podcast. I am your host, Ciselle. Today's conversation is about the grit and resiliency that it takes to build something from scratch and building what you didn't see and venturing into making that a possibility for others. To help us facilitate that conversation today and ensure that it is insightful and meaningful, I have joining us Dr. Jade L. Ranger. She is a pharmacist, entrepreneur, author, and community leader based in Williamsburg, Virginia, a proud Hampton University School of Pharmacy alumni, Go HBCU. She is the co-owner of the Prescription Shop Pharmacies, which she co-founded with her husband to provide patient-centered care to the greater Williamsburg area. In 2026, she was appointed by Governor Abigail Spenberger to serve the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, reflecting her commitment to advancing the profession and protecting public health across the Commonwealth. Dr. Ranger serves as the diversity, equity, and inclusion chair for the Virginia Pharmacists Association and is a dedicated member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority Inc. She sits on the Board of Literacy for Life and Pharmacy Today's National Editorial Advisory Board and is active in numerous professional and civic organizations. She is also the author of Mustard Seed Mentality and a featured columnist for the Virginia Gazette. In 2024, Dr. Ranger was honored with the Bowl of Hygiene Award for outstanding community service. It gives me so much joy to welcome to the pod Dr. Jade Ranger. Hi, Jay.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

How are you? First of all, um, thank you so much for having me. I've been following your journey for years, and I fangirl over you, just as much as you fangirl over me. Um I appreciate watching your journey unfold and all the things that you have done, particularly for pharmacy students. Um, it's amazing. And so I think iron sharpens iron. And so being able to connect with women, with women of color like you, I think really just inspires me daily, reminds me why I'm doing these things and to keep moving forward. So I appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation with you today.

SPEAKER_01 2:56

Gosh, I will not cry today because I am, I could, I share the same sentiment. I respect your posture in this space and continue to point to you for student pharmacists that really feel scared about whether or not a path that hasn't been beaten down before makes sense for them. And so you and Henry's journey, I think is inspiring in that way. And that's really where I really want to start. It's just thinking about the phrase becoming what you didn't see. When you hear that, what does that mean to you, or what type of emotion does that potentially elicit for you, knowing all of what you've done and the tone you've set to get to where you are today?

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Honestly, um just incredibly humbling. You know, thinking of that question and just reflecting on it makes me feel emotional because I'll be honest, you know, I was a student and I've been very transparent about the fact. I really struggled my first two years of pharmacy school. I had a really hard time kind of adjusting to the pace of pharmacy school. Um, you know, and being dedicated in the way that I needed to be. I think I was one of those students who kind of, you know, I coasted in high school while I tested into a science and math program. You know, I did well. And I was cheering all four years. And, you know, when I went to Hampton University for undergrad, it was kind of the same thing where, you know, I was doing okay, still having a very social life, still cheering all the things on campus. And when I um matriculated into the professional pharmacy program at the real age, you just gotta throw that in there. Um you couldn't help yourself. Could not help myself. It was quite the transition. And it was a really difficult journey. And there were many times that I questioned whether or not I would complete the program, if I would, you know, graduate on time, um, if I, you know, was smart enough, if I um, you know, had the skills that it was really gonna take to not only be a pharmacy practitioner, but a good one, a knowledgeable one, a competent one, a dependable one, a compassionate one. And so when I reflect on, you know, who I was at that time in my life, there were a lot of insecurities. I had a lot of doubt. Because even when I felt like, oh, I was really studying and I was trying my best, my grades didn't always reflect that. And so that was always very deflating and it made you, you know, kind of question your worth and if you belonged with the rest of the students. And so to see where my farming pharmacy journey has taken me, it's it's unbelievable. I almost feel like it's a Cinderella story. You know, I've had so many of my professors that I continue to stay in contact with to this day, who I remember being in their office, having a full breakdown, you know, them praying over me, giving me a hug, encouraging me. And they still do that to this day. And so to know that, you know, I not only did graduate on time, I did not, you know, I not only passed my naplex on the first time, I not only started my career in community pharmacy, but then took it, you know, a step further with opening, you know, independent community pharmacy from scratch. I always like to point out that there are other prescription shops across the nation, um, but we don't have any affiliation with them. Just being in the greater historic triangle area here in Williamsburg, Virginia, we thought the old English spelling with the two Ps and the E was, you know, had a nice ring to it. And so that's kind of how we came up with it. But, you know, it really has been a labor of love, a place that I would have never envisioned myself living, um, you know, in a space that I would have never um anticipated being in. And so it's just every single day, it is such an amazing feeling to know that I feel that I'm doing exactly what God has called me to do and I am walking my purpose, and I have no doubt about that.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

And that's so like, not even to mention how encouraging it is, it is extremely profound to have because I think what happens to young professionals and student pharmacists is this complex. Like first for those of us uh who have no contact of that journey with you, all we see is that you are doing exactly what you dreamed of, right? You love what you're doing, you love being impactful, you love making a difference in your community. Was it always community pharmacy, or did you toy with another possible path?

SPEAKER_00 7:29

It was always community pharmacy, to be honest with you. The way that I got introduced to the profession of pharmacy is because my dad worked for Bristol Meyer Squib for 33 years. He started out as a sales rep and eventually became a district manager. He did extremely well in his career, which afforded my sister and I the lifestyle that we were privileged to live growing up. So in my mind, I was like, oh, I want to get into big pharma. This seems like a lucrative career. You know, I can have a wonderful lifestyle. And my dad at the time was like, you know, the industry is really changing. So if you truly wanted to get into big pharma, I recommend you going to pharmacy school, getting your pharma D. You can come back as a medical science liaison, what we call MSO. And I was like, oh, I would have to be in pharmacy school forever. I graduated until I'm like 25. I don't want to do that. And so there was a little, there was a little pushback at first. Yeah. But then what was really the selling point for me is I was like, okay, you know, if I'm gonna consider this, I have to do my research. I want to get some hands-on experience and see if it's something I can truly see myself doing. And so that looks like me reaching out to a community pharmacist named Angela Morrow, who was um a community pharmacist at a local small grocery store chain where I'm from in the Prince George's County or PG County, Maryland area. Yeah, PG County girl. Um, and so I just happened to walk in, you know, I asked her what she'd be open to me coming in and shadowing her Monday through Friday for a couple hours every morning because I had to have a senior internship my senior year at uh at high in high school at Eleanor Roosevelt. And so she graciously agreed. And through that experience at 17, I fell in love with community pharmacy. And then at that point, it was I was no longer thinking about going into big pharma, going into the industry. I was like, oh, I want to be a community pharmacist. Like I loved seeing what she did. Anyone who's ever heard me on a podcast, ever asked me this question, here's the same answer because it's so incredibly true. Like she was knowledgeable, she was uh assertive when she needed to be, she was compassionate, she looks like me. I had so much respect for not only Angela, but for the love and adoration that was clear that she had from her patients and the difference that she was making. And so that like just forever set the trajectory of my life. And so at that point, going into pharmacy school, you know, oftentimes, particularly during the time frame I was in pharmacy school, which was 2008-2012, you saw this major shift where it was like, oh, it was two options that people ever talked about in school retail or um residency. And it was like always kind of this, you know, rivalry between who wants to do retail versus who wants to do residency. And so in my mind, I was like, well, I want to be a community pharmacist. But what I decided to do was I was gonna have an open mind. So when I went on my, you know, rotations, I tried to see like, okay, is there something that I might be more interested in? And to be honest, you know, while the hospital experience was cool for me, I still enjoy community pharmacy. And I am still a community pharmacist at heart today. And even though at this point I only work in our full service pharmacy one or two days a week, it still fills my cup because having those interactions with patients, knowing that you're making a difference in people's lives on that front line of you know health care, it's incredibly gratifying. Yesterday, I learned that one of our best patients actually he passed unexpectedly. He was someone who was originally our patient at Walmart. He followed us over to the prescription shop when we opened. He's been a faithful patient, him and his wife. And, you know, it was so devastating because you know, we're in tears ourselves, and it was a little unexpected. His wife had kind of been ill for the last few years, but his was kind of an unexpected spiral, and I couldn't believe it. And yesterday, being in the store, giving his wife a hug, rubbing her back while she was crying, you know, and I was crying, it just reminded me like this is why I do what I do because I have patients who have that type of connection with me, and that's something that's priceless.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

It's priceless, it is rare, and not every functional area will allow you the privilege of actually knowing who your knowledge and your skill set touches. And I think that community pharmacists and I fell into AMCAR and got a little bit of taste of that and managing people chronically, so I can completely understand like once that relationship is established, because you really are part of their health journey. Like you're not just trying to see them through the flu or the broken arm. Like, you're not there just for the crisis, but you become this integral part of their entire health journey, and there is something super magical about it. I'm so sorry for your loss, and thank you. I'm pretty sure that that had to be really difficult to hear and find out. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about as you're going through, you've gone through all this journey, you're out now. And when does the courage to be like we are about to do this? Like, is there is there like a light bulb moment where you realize like we're about to do this thing? Or where you were you kind of like one foot in, one foot out type of thing uh with your husband on it? Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation.

SPEAKER_00 13:09

Actually, two feet out. Two feet out, to be honest. Um, it was something that, you know, now people think like, oh, we met in pharmacy school, he was a year ahead of me. This was something that we planned all along. It wasn't. Um, it was, you know, a situation where our careers were going well, um, financially things were going well. I talk about it all the time. And I think that Henry started missing the direct patient interaction. Because to your point, you know, patients who stop in urgent care, who stop in ER, even those who have a primary care, they may see their doctor once or twice a year. We see patients regularly because we have patients that stop by our store because they were at Starbucks and they just want to come in and say hi. We have patients that are coming in just to get something over the counter and they want to talk to you for 30 minutes. So, I mean, the relationships that we have with our patients truly they go above and beyond. They transcend just us as their pharmacy provider because we're community members and they see us all over town. That's right. So I think you know, he missed being in the store regularly and developing those long-standing relationships because he had been promoted to a pharmacy clinical services manager for Walmart. And so he had 20 stores that were under him, that he was basically traveling back and forth from Williamsburg to Virginia Beach. And so he no longer was in the space to really continue to foster those long-standing relationships. And that kind of started with him being in a position where it was another one of our colleagues who joked with him and was like, you know, the rapport that I see you have with patients that you haven't really known that long just from visiting our stores and being here periodically, you should really just open your own pharmacy because I think you would do so well. And so he came home and told me that. And I was like, Yeah, I don't think so. I was like, you know, I was like, you know, I know patients love you for sure, but I was like, that, I mean, that because we at that time had never known anyone, seen anyone open a pharmacy from scratch. Now, we had a little window to what it looked like to open a pharmacy from that was brand new because uh back in 2013 he had the opportunity to be a pharmacy manager for a Walmart that was brand new. So he did see some of the steps, but many of them, like the major when it came to like securing, you know, contracts with major insurance companies, that was not his responsibility. So it was one of those things where he had some familiarity with it, but not totally. And so, you know, in my mind, I was like, it was it was not even feasible to think about opening your own pharmacy from scratch and that we would be able to do it successfully. So it took a few months of him kind of joking before I realized, like, okay, no, this is something he really wants to consider.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:45

And it took me a long time to really come to terms with the fact that, like, okay, this is gonna play out one of two ways. Either I'm going to get on board and be supportive, um, and we'll see what happens, or I'm not. And then he could potentially down the line resent me because he's like, you know, we never took our shot and we never knew what this would turn into. And so, you know, thank God I was willing to take the risk and the leap of faith with him because our lives are totally different seven years into this journey than what it would have been if, you know, I was still or we were still working at one.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

100%. And I think like one of the things I admire the most about you all and what you're doing, and why I feel like more students and young practitioners need to know about the two of you is you you start this thing where you're just like, I'm just gonna stand in it with my partner and my husband and be super supportive, and it's working. At what point then are you thinking that part of the plan now needs to be for helping others? And because we're looking at you all and we're just like, this is amazing, but like I can't even begin to conceptualize how they did it. And I don't need to guess. Like, if I was interested in knowing how you did it and wanted to do it, you all have decided to really step up in that way to help improve the rate at which like uh black and brown people or pharmacy owners in the country. Talk to us a little bit about like when does that start floating in your mind to actually putting it into action?

SPEAKER_00 17:26

I would say that probably came three to four years into our pharmacy ownership journey. And and because at first, like you're just trying to learn, you're just trying to survive, you're just hoping it works out. You hear all the statistics about how most businesses don't make it past 12 or 18 months. Also, fun fact, which some people have heard me talk about, you know, we had our one-year anniversary party for the prescription shop, literally the weekend before the world shut down because of COVID-19. And so there was a lot of uncertainty. Like, so that entire time frame was really framed around okay, are we gonna make it through the pandemic pandemic? And then what does the vaccine outreach look like and all of that? And so there were several years in the beginning where we were hyper-focused on the pandemic, and that was, you know, pretty much encompassing all of our attention at that timeframe. But once we started to come out of COVID and the pandemic and the world kind of started opening back up, and we started going to pharmacy conferences, what we saw was that when it came to pharmacy owners, oftentimes at some of these comp uh conferences, it was Henry and I together bringing the color to the room, period. And not that not that there are not other black and brown pharmacy owners out there. There are, but they're few and far between. And to the point where when you try to like Google it, the information is almost not even quantifiable. Like I've I've seen like maybe once or twice something about less than two percent that are black pharmacy owners. Of course, you know, if you open it up to Indian, Asian, you know, that that number of it does, but still. And so I think for us, really just the desire to see other pharmacy owners that looked like us when we were in these spaces, yeah, um, was what really fueled the idea of like, let's start ranger consulting, let's identify other black and brown people who are interested in this journey and helping them along the way, giving them tools. Because so often when we go into these spaces, people are looking at us like we're a unicorn and it's almost like they're unclear. Like, did we come to the right conference? Like, were we really here for Steve Harvey conference? Like, it's just they're trying to figure it out because it was like, oh, they haven't seen two, you know, what I like to think, young black pharmacy owners before. And then so everyone what you like to think. So everyone's trying to like figure it out, like, okay, are we in the right place? And then if so, the next question is immediately like, oh, well, did we purchase a pharmacy? So then when people start realizing, no, we started it, it just it it it's it's amazing to see the response that we get from so many people.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

So and I think that's that speaks volume. I mean, it's it's it's quantified that like for I think when I graduated, the number was like 4.5% of pharmacists are black. So we are already such a small portion of the profession, but then you talk about this type of uh disruption and innovation, it doesn't matter how passionate you are, when you see those statistics, it put a little bit of fear in your heart. And I think that's why I admire you guys being like whether the need is quantifiable or not, our lived experiences tell us that there's space for people who look like us to for us to show them the how to. And that takes me to a topic I'm incredibly passionate about. How has representation for you shaped this journey in the decisions that you have made, the the choices that you all have made for the direction that the business would or would not take? What has that been like?

SPEAKER_00 21:02

It's been incredibly intentional, to be honest with you. I think because we see such a lack of representation in these spaces, we have been dead set on making sure that we bring other people with us. And so that's why I'm recently in May I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker for the hooding and diploma ceremony for BCU School of Pharmacy. And something that I talked about was, you know, building our own table and then inviting other people to sit there with us. And so something that I'm consistently hashtagging on social media is like, uh, you know, lift as you climb. And so it's something that is important to both of us that now that we have broken into some of these spaces, we want to make sure that we bring other people with us. And so that looks like us hiring other pharmacists from, you know, HBCUs and from our alma mater. That looks like us being pre. Preceptors for other HBCUs, including the real HU Hampton University and also Howard College of Pharmacy. And it looks like us taking the extra time to really mentor students and they become little brothers and sisters to us. Many of them come in, whether they're there on an official rotation or just to visit, express they've never been in a black-owned pharmacy before. They've never seen this. They are always so excited, so inspired, and you can feel that energy from them. And so it makes you want to give back to them more, build them up more, show them what's possible, help them understand that if this is something that you are truly interested in, there is a path forward. There is a space for you. It's not easy, it requires a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. I tell people all the time do not get, you know, misled by all of the highs that you see on social media from us, because I try to be honest and share the lows too. And it is a lot of work. It is not easy. It takes a lot of sacrifice, both personally and professionally. Because at the end of the day, if you know it hits the fan, it's on Henry and me, you know. We are responsible. We have, you know, between our two locations, there's a total of 20 staff members, including the two of us. We've got four pharmacists in total. We've got two and a half delivery drivers, and then we've got everyone else who's pharmacy technicians. So these people are relying on us for their income. So every decision that we make, we have to be thinking of them. We have to be thinking of the example that we're setting. We have to be mindful of the fact that other people are watching us. And so it's something that we are very well aware of and we don't take for granted.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Oh my goodness. I want to ask you an entrepreneurship question because as an emerging entrepreneur, I struggle with unclenching my fist. Like I building a team because I feel like I can recall every single epiphany and moment of what I decided to create or not create, pursue and not pursue, the possibility of bringing others into that and what I've created that I feel really proud of. It's a real anxiety. I'm trying to think, you're telling me a staff of 20. What is that like? Like after you've got this clear vision of this is where we're headed, it's time to get some help up in here. Yeah. Where you guys were like, how do you manage that?

SPEAKER_00 24:34

It has been a journey. I will tell you that most of the time, what people expect to hear when you when they ask you what's the hardest part of entrepreneurship is like the financial piece. And I'm not gonna, you know, diminish that. That's still a very hard piece, particularly with the PBMs, the DRPs that you always hear us talk about. That being said, it is managing the people, it is a very precarious place to be, particularly for us, because you know, we are people who are in our late 30s who manage a staff of people who are basically around our age or a little bit younger. And so that sometimes can create different dynamics. Like to give you an example, today we were doing our quarterly evaluations, and so that was something that took us like three and a half, four hours to complete between two locations because we try to have meaningful interactions, conversations with our staff members, and we try to be very honest and transparent in what we like to call our grows and glows. And obviously, everyone is doing something well, everyone has space for improvement, including Henry and I. And so part of that conversation is we always remind them, like, hey, we might be seven years in, but we are still learning as we go. Is there something that we could be doing to better support you? Is there something that you know we've done that, you know, you're like, hey, I didn't appreciate this, or whatever the case may be, because we're also all human. And so we want to make sure that, you know, just like your family who you love, sometimes people get on your nerves, sometimes there can be friction. It's the same thing in a family, particularly when we've been working together for quite a few years now. And so one of the I think parts that I really struggled with in the beginning was letting go of certain tasks and responsibilities and not being a micromanager because I, like many pharmacists and probably like you, am a total type A personality. Um I am like got a terrible case, and I know we always overuse the like OCD, but it's so real for me, and I am so particular, and I struggle more than anything else from being a perfectionist. So, like, I if we roll out a new service or whatever, I want it to be perfect, I want it to be flawless. I want to make sure we've thought of all of the issues, the potential kinks, so we can be mitigating whatever comes up. And so I'm very particular, and so that can be hard to kind of let go of some of the control and rely on other people because at the end of the day, no one's ever going to be as invested in your business as you are. That being said, there are plenty of people who, when you give them, when you incentivize them with growth opportunities for leadership, with pay increases. We have a staff members who are very invested in the prescription shop. The success of the prescription shop, wanting to see it grow. They, you know, and so today what I was talking about for so many of them is like I have been so blessed to be in a position where I finally let go of some of the reins and see the way that certain people have stepped up, you know, spearheaded projects, taken certain, you know, ideas and completely run with it. And now we're just basically in a place where I have certain people that manage different aspects of the business and they just report back to me and they check in with us and they let us know. And it has been the most refreshing, I think, space to be in the last couple of years since I really kind of let go of some responsibilities to just see other people step up. And I think the lesson that it's taught me is that if you give people an opportunity, you know, they will step up. People, you know, some people really thrive from having more responsibility, having a little bit more autonomy. And so that has been a journey for sure. But I'm glad to have finally arrived in this place. And now I'm happy to say that, you know, Henry and I can be in a situation where you know, we can be away from the store for a week, a week and a half, two weeks from both locations. And yeah, people will still text us from time to time, people still talk uh call us from time to time, but automatically both locations can run like a well-oiled machine without us ever stepping foot inside.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

So is that a milestone in itself to reach, I think, because two separate locations, but it also probably speaks volume to the fact that you have good processes in place, right? Like places don't run themselves. Places don't run themselves. We we love to think so, but that's really, really amazing. Yeah, I I'm I'm learning, and this is the year that I think I'm going to have to step back when I think about the growth, the rate at which the demand has grown. It is unrealistic and unsustainable. If I want to continue to be a present wife, a present mom, I have to open it up and allow maybe to just learn from the experience, because no matter what unfolds, I'm sure there's a lesson to learn through that process.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Absolutely. If I could just say one more thing about that to your point, we have learned so much from our team members. So there are a lot of honestly processes and procedures, workflow things that have been improved because we've had staff members that have joined our team from various places and they're bringing their own wealth of knowledge, work experience. And they're like, hey, so I see you guys doing this. Have you considered you doing that way? And we're like, oh, you know what? No, we haven't, but let's implement it. And that's the beauty of being independently owned. We don't have to go up to some red tape, some corporate that has to get supreme light. We can decide today, we want to do this. Great, boom, let's implement it. And so that has been very cool to see because every single person who has ever worked for the prescription shop, past, present, so on, um, has brought something to the table, has improved us in some way. And I think that's the beauty in allowing yourself to take a little bit of a step back because people bring different perspectives to the table.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Okay, so real quick, if you're enjoying this conversation, go ahead and rate and review the podcast. It helps more people find the show and keeps the conversation going. Okay, so let's get back to the conversation. Absolutely. And that's the exciting part. Like that's the part I'm eager to find out what someone outside looking in would see that I'm blind to because I'm passion-driven. I'm passion-driven, and they're just looking at it strictly from a standpoint of I've been hired to do a job, and here's let me look at all of the critical points of friction to identify where opportunities may be. Being an HBCU grad, I tell I feel like this is something we kind of all share. We feel a sense of responsibility to represent, number one, and number two, to give back. What's your philosophy around mentorship? You've talked about it a little bit with the appy opportunity, but how how important of a of a tool you think it is to really furthering that mission you have of demystifying this path for people that look like us.

SPEAKER_00 31:39

It goes far past just the appi rotation. This goes to having high school students that come in and shadow us because that's how I got my start. So at this point, we have high school students who shadowed with us like a couple of Saturdays, like four years ago. Now they're graduating from college, now they're consider can I'm seriously considering pursuing pharmacy school or some other lane within the healthcare profession, that they still, you know, will credit us for you know giving them some type of insight. And so this goes to also, even when I go to our local high schools to persist to participate in mock interviews, whether those kids ever think about pursuing the profession of pharmacy or not, I could care less. I am there so they see a black professional, someone who is educated, someone who has been into my career for a little bit that they can actually see making a difference in their community that can speak to them and to their experience in life. And so when we, whenever I participate in those types of things, I'm never there asking the list of questions that are printed out for us as the facilitator of the mock interviews. I am like, hey, I have 15 minutes to talk to you. These are some things I want to tell you, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, um, that I want you to keep in mind. And I always end it the same way. You may not remember my face, you may not remember my name, but like my hope is that something that I said resonates with you. And 10, 15 years down the line, you're like, I remember someone said X, Y, and Z. And it changed my perspective, it changed my outlook, it changed the trajectory of my life in some way. And even when we go and do like the career days of the elementary, middle schools, um, high schools, it's for the same thing because at the end of the day, particularly in the area that we live in, while yes, it's becoming increasingly more diverse, it's still predominantly white. I want those kids to have an opportunity to see people that look like them in certain spaces that maybe they've never seen before because at the end of the day, if you can see it, you can be it.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

So 100%. And that's that's so on par because for this, I want us, I want you to think about the student pharmacist. They all just started their rotation, they're in their final year, and what they envision wanting to do, they're struggling to find an example of that out there. It looks a little bit kind of like that, but it would do this too. It's maybe a merger between two different things that they've seen and have been exposed to. They just don't know where to start or don't have the confidence to be a pathfinder. What would be one major advice you would have for that person struggling to figure out how to start when the example is missing for them?

SPEAKER_00 34:25

I would probably say, and this is actually something that I mentioned in that keynote speech to VCU School of Pharmacy students, and that was you know, fear doesn't go away, you know, when you become ready. Like fear is something that is going to be there. So you have to make the decision that you're going to move forward anyway. Because there are so many obstacles, there's so much happening around us in the world from the headlines to just all the crazy foolishness that you are already dealing with, particularly as a person of color in this country. And so if we let fear stand in the way, many of us would be paralyzed and we would never pursue our passions or dreams, right? So it's kind of like just being committed to putting one foot foot in front of the other. Like you may not, and it's something that you know you hear talk about people talk about something, you might not see the whole staircase, right? Like you might not see the final destination where you're gonna arrive. I would have never imagined being where I am right now. No, seriously, like you're laughing, but I'm dead at serious. Like I would have never imagined, like, even listening to the intro and you, you know, talking about all my different accolades, like it's always so weird for me to listen to people to people read my bio because it's almost like I can't even believe that they're talking about me because you know, imposter syndrome is real. Like, honestly, when I was asked to give that keynote speech, I was so nervous. I couldn't believe it. I was like, I can't believe they're asking me this. I I was I felt so privileged. Same thing with the Board of Pharmacy recently with that new appointment. I was shocked. And so it starts to almost become and feel unreal that other people are seeing something in you because again, we didn't start out this journey seeking, you know, these opportunities or these accolades. That was never the goal. Like it was just us having a conversation about wanting to bring back real patient care the way that we saw fit without all the red tape and kind of deciding to do it our own way. So I would say fear is an obstacle that a lot of people let prohibit them for the rest of their life. Don't, don't, don't let that be your story.

SPEAKER_01 36:34

Yeah. Don't let that be your story. I feel like that's the perfect high end. I cannot thank you enough for the privilege of your time. With everything you have going on, I truly, truly appreciate you taking the time to come share. I think you are definitely a person and a voice I want my audience to know exist. And I love to impart hope. Like, I think that again, your story, I love it because it was just like we're gonna do this thing, whether the blueprint exists or not. And then the the parts of it that we figured out, we are going to help other people that are also trying to figure it out. I appreciate your time and admire you and Henry so much. And I wanted to say thank you for doing this. I really and truly appreciate it, Jade.

SPEAKER_00 37:28

Absolutely. Thank you for having me. As always, I always enjoy engaging with you, chatting with you. Um, so I appreciate the privilege of you inviting me on your show. And um, I hope that your listeners, something that I say will resonate with them as well. But thank you again for the invitation to participate.

SPEAKER_01 37:45

Absolutely. Okay, so now that it's just us, I loved this episode and recording the episode. First of all, Jade's energy, it's so calming, so reassuring. She puts you at ease. It was a super, super dope experience getting a chance to talk to her. If it's your first time meeting Jade, please, please, please, please go and support her. But I think the biggest thing that this episode kind of showed us is that the next path doesn't need to be clear. A lot of the stories that Jade shared today really was just about number one, resilience. Sharing that story about the fact that pharmacy school started out not very reassuring, and that that journey felt a little bit shaky for her. And the self-doubt that she kind of had in the beginning. When we take that student pharmacist and reconcile it with the community leader and the disruptor that her and Henry are today, it's difficult to even believe that someone like that ever went through a period where they thought that something that they could dream of may not be possible. But I think that's what I love about Jade. It's the fact that, number one, the honesty and candor with which she shares. And I think it's because she knows that there's a lot of power in normalizing the conversation around the uncertainties of how we all battle imposter syndrome, because I mean someone at Jade's level, right, who would think the imposter syndrome is something that's even in her vocabulary. But I admire the honesty, I respect the transparency with which she shares. The other thing that I think was really, really cool that she talked about is the fact that, and I believe she put it that the intentionality of the business choices that they make, including the ways in which she is super intentional about improving representation because she understands that that visibility is important. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Seeing other people do uh big things gives you permission. It gives you permission to know that there is nothing supernatural about it. It's just that they built a plan and decided to stick with it, to execute it. I am grateful for people like Jade and Henry and their resilience, tenacity, the grit it takes to bring other people along. And I wish them uh the utmost success with all of the things that they decide to embark on. As always, I'm grateful that you're choosing this podcast to start your Monday morning with. If what you hear on this podcast you found meaningful, please subscribe to the podcast. Please rate and review the podcast. It really does go a long way in helping other people discover the podcast and support us. Thank you for being here. Thank you for your comments, your likes, your subscriptions. And I will see you guys again next Monday with another powerful and phenomenal episode on becoming on purpose. Okay, bye. If this episode gave you something to think about, something to hold on to, or even something to act on, I want to ask you for one more thing. Take a moment to write and review the podcast. It feels really small, but it's actually one of the biggest ways you can support this show. It helps more people find these conversations and become part of this community we're building right here on Success and Dose.