Her Story
About Kathleen
Kathleen Garcia is a pharmacy professional with 15 years of experience, currently at Fit Pharmacy where she works with a team of 12 staff members. She is transitioning from direct pharmacy duties to a behind-the-scenes informatics role while continuing to support patients without insurance by ensuring they receive needed medications. Garcia grew up in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border and attended Cornell University on a scholarship to study science before shifting her focus to plant biology and ultimately earning her pharmacy degree from UT. Her drive stems from witnessing her parents suffer preventable health complications due to lack of healthcare access, which motivates her daily work. She emphasizes kindness in creating safe healthcare spaces, encourages her technicians to pursue certifications and growth, and advises women entering the field to advocate for themselves and prioritize self-care to sustain their ability to help others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kathleen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think just growing up with parents who didn't have healthcare, saw them have uncontrolled disease states that resulted in blindness, that resulted in, you know, disabilities, and I just... all of it was preventable, and so I think I used that as motivation to keep going every day.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Best career advice, I think, is just keep believing in yourself, stand up for yourself, speak... advocate for yourself. Sometimes you have to... you stand up for yourself, and know, like, what you want and what you deserve, and that you're being treated respectfully.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think... that kind of sneaks up on you is that it can take an emotional toll sometimes. Like, you put a lot of into yourself helping others, and you just always have to remember that It's important to take time to take care of yourself as well. You need to be good in order to take care of other people.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
For me... Kindness, and just leading, believing that, seeing everything was From a point of, people have good intentions, and so... I just want to make sure Everybody gets treated kindly, that they know that it's a safe space to seek healthcare.
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