When I started my pharmacy journey during the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago, I was still unsure whether I had made the right choice and whether I would find my footing among other pharmacy students. I could never have predicted that I would eventually be elected as the president of the BPSA as I enter my fourth year at Keele University.

It was an honour to be recognised by my peers and the BPSA’s members during the 81st annual conference. Knowing that members have put their faith in me to lead the association from July 1 has left me with an empowering sense of gratitude and responsibility.

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My journey with the BPSA started in late 2020 as a liaison for my school of pharmacy. During the 79th annual conference, I was elected Pennine area co-ordinator and then secretary general at the 80th annual conference.

Over the last three years, I have seen the association develop rapidly. The main focus of my last few predecessors has been transitioning the association from purely a virtual presence, brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, back to in-person member engagement.

During her tenure, my immediate predecessor, Priyanka Patel, helped us complete this transition and we have had success holding our conferences and university roadshows in person. I believe the next president is in a fortunate position and can focus on developing new strategies to engage our members now that we have established an offline presence once again, and offer them new opportunities and experiences.

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As incoming president, I am keen to continue and build on the work of my predecessors, pushing for greater equality, diversity and inclusion in pharmacy education and the pharmacy profession. The association will continue to run focused campaigns and offer students and trainees learning opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills for when they begin facing a diverse patient population in practice.

My team and I will continue to work closely with our stakeholders and sponsors to create more opportunities for our members to gain skills and experience through competitions, workshops, work placements and more.

Another key focus for this upcoming term will be to engage with and support pharmacy societies to help them gain a better understanding of the specific needs of their student population and collaborate on more events.

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Finally, having had multiple executive members complete their foundation training year during the last term, it has become very apparent to me how challenging the year is. Therefore, throughout my tenure, I would like to put more emphasis on running webinars and publishing resources to assist our graduate member trainees during their training year.

Every BPSA opportunity I have taken has led me to where I am today, and I want our members to be able to gain as much from the association as I have.

If I were to sum up my ambitions for my term in one sentence, it would be: making sure every member has an equal opportunity to gain from their involvement with the BPSA.

Nonyelum Anigbo is the incoming president of the BPSA