Second-year Pharm.D. student Christian Moon was selected as one of seven students in the country to earn the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's 2024 Walmart Health Equity Scholarship for Pharmacy Students. Per AACP's announcement this month, the scholarship recognizes students' advocacy, leadership, academic success and commitment to serve rural or medically underserved patient populations upon graduation.

"This scholarship will provide crucial support as I work toward my goal of becoming a board-certified psychiatric pharmacist dedicated to improving health equity in underserved communities," Moon said.

Now in its third year, the goal of the scholarship program is to promote and support a diverse population of student pharmacists who will advance health equity. Moon is the first student from a pharmacy school in Virginia to be selected since the program began.

"This aligns perfectly with my mission to serve medically underserved communities, especially those facing mental health and substance use challenges," he said.

Since 2022, Moon has provided service to medically underserved populations through his work at HireGround, a nonprofit based in Northern Virginia. Moon’s experience has ranged from helping unemployed individuals re-enter the workforce by providing holistic support and connecting them with job training to distributing hygiene packs for students in need. This scholarship will allow him to continue this type of work.

"With this scholarship," Moon said, "I can more effectively bridge the gap between my personal experiences and my professional aspirations, working to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background or financial status, has access to the care and support they need to thrive."

As a student at VCU School of Pharmacy, Moon is coordinating a service project called the Resilient Smile Project this spring with the school's American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists student chapter. Moon and peers from across VCU's health sciences schools will assemble free hygiene packs that outpatient pharmacies and substance use disorder clinics can distribute to patients with opioid use disorder to help them address the dental health issues they can face using transmucosal buprenorphine-containing medications. With this scholarship, Moon said "I can direct more focus on both my studies and impactful projects, such as the Resilient Smile Project."

Going forward in his career, this scholarship, Moon shared, will empower him to reach his ultimate goal of establishing a nonprofit pharmacy and serving medically underserved community members by offering "critical services, such as smoking cessation therapy, mental health counseling and substance use disorder treatment. I envision this nonprofit pharmacy breaking down barriers to care and inspiring other health care professionals to drive meaningful change in the health care system," he said.