January 17, 2020
Kulchanok “Liw” Panichakornkul was selected for the national Zada M. Cooper Scholarship, an annual award given by the Kappa Epsilon Foundation.
The scholarship, which is named after a founding member of Kappa Epsilon (KE), chooses its recipients based off their high academic standards and involvement in the professional pharmacy fraternity and respective school.
“It’s such a great honor for me to be one of the five recipients of this national award as it not only recognizes my accomplishments within the Beta Mu Chapter, but also my contributions to the School as well,” said the third-year pharmacy student. “KE really means a lot to me.”
Panichakornkul spends most of her time outside the classroom working with different student organizations. She currently serves as vice president for the Beta Mu Chapter of Kappa Epsilon on the Asheville, N.C. campus. She was also the chapter’s secretary last year and served on the committee for the Well-Being and Resiliency Endowment Fund in memory of Pharm.D. student Mikey Nam. The endowment committee plans mental health awareness events on the Asheville campus, including the annual “Pay it Forward Day.” Panichakornkul said she was especially proud of how the Beta Mu Chapter has grown in recent years. By working together, students exceeded fundraising goals for the endowment in less than one year.
Outside of KE, Panichakornkul is the public relations and marketing chair for the Asheville Summit, an annual conference that is planned entirely by pharmacy students. She’s also a teaching assistant at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and interns at Sona Pharmacy in Asheville.
Panichakornkul, a current Rural Pharmacy Scholar, said she has seen the barriers rural communities face in accessing high-quality healthcare. She noticed this both in Thailand where she was born, and in Asheville where she grew up.
“I believe the rural population is one of the populations that face greater challenges in accessing care due to health disparities, which could impact their health and quality of life,” she said. “I wanted to work in a rural area to provide care for those populations and make a difference on their health.”
She said she was still exploring possible career options but is interested in practicing ambulatory care in a rural area. In her free time, she also enjoys hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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