January 23, 2020
One of Charlene Williams’ favorite things about her job is working with students.
“I enjoy mentoring students to help them find their own path…and trying to match their interests with their strengths,” she said.
Williams, Pharm.D., works at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Asheville campus as the director of preceptor development. She recently won the annual Kappa Epsilon (KE) Career Achievement Award, which is presented to a KE alumni who has remained involved with pharmacy and the fraternity to honor professional achievements. Williams was nominated by students for the award.
“It came as a complete surprise to me,” she said. “What really touched me so much was to know the students had taken time to nominate me for that. It was an honor to be selected by KE.”
Williams earned her Pharm.D. at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in Chapel Hill and worked primarily in ambulatory pharmacy after a specialty residency in primary care. With a long history precepting students and working with residents, she joined the School as a faculty member on the Asheville campus in 2012 and is now responsible for overseeing preceptor development programs. She is currently researching what preceptors need from this programming and working on new development methods.
Williams said a desire to help people is what motivated her to become a pharmacist.
“I saw some of the challenges some of my family members had, and they weren’t always receiving optimal care,” she said. “It made me more passionate about being able to provide care for other people. Now that I am in a faculty role, it is rewarding to be a part of the development of the next generation of pharmacists in the classroom, and learning how to support our preceptors who are doing this in patient care environments.”
Williams, an alumna of the Lambda Chapter of Kappa Epsilon, was invited to work as faculty advisor with the Beta Mu Chapter on the Asheville campus because of her past involvement with KE. She said one of the greatest moments at her job so far was when the Beta Mu Chapter received the Community Service award at last year’s National KE Convention. The chapter was recognized for helping to establish the Well-Being & Resiliency Endowment and Award in memory of student Mikey Nam.
Williams said she was impressed by the professionalism, creativity and hard work the Beta Mu students showed while they organized the event.
“It was a pinnacle moment for me,” she said. “I was so proud of the work that they had done.”
Williams said she especially enjoys the “community and family feel” at the Asheville campus.
“Our students on both campuses are very caring and involved in serving the community and the School,” she said. “They also come and check on the faculty and staff, and that’s such an enjoyable part of our day.”
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