Between studying for final exams and preparing to walk across the commencement stage, senior Kaelyn Angell is getting ready for another final moment at NDSU: playing piano at her last College of Health Professions ceremony.

Like many NDSU students, Angell has been able to enhance her education with opportunities for personal growth and fun experiences. For the last four years, Angell has played the piano for pharmacy and nursing White Coat, Pharmacy Hooding, and Nurse Pinning ceremonies.

The pharmacy student has been playing piano since she was 10 years old. Her piano playing became less frequent as she got older and became busy with school and other activities.

When she started her professional program at NDSU, she had an unexpected opportunity to start playing again.

“When I started pharmacy school here at NDSU, we were about to have a white coat ceremony and one of our faculty reached out, looking for a pharmacy student who also played the piano,” said Angell, who is from St. Cloud, Minnesota. “For me, at that time, it seemed like a really good opportunity to keep my hobby,”

Angell was only expecting to play once. They asked her to play again. Now, she has played the piano for a total of 10 ceremonies.

“It just means a lot to me to see all the students that NDSU produces in the health professions field,” she said. “NDSU has a history of continuing to produce very good pharmacists, very good nursing students. I’ve been excited to be a part of this exciting day for many students.”

She sees a lot of parallels between her study of pharmacy and her passion for piano. Both, she said, require patience, practice and focus. Most of all, she’s glad she’s been able to continue playing piano and be a successful pharmacy student.  

“I'm glad that this opportunity to play has brought piano back into my life,” Angell said.

Angell will graduate Saturday with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She plans be a community pharmacist in central Minnesota.

“Playing at my last ceremony is very bittersweet,” she said. “I’m counting down the days to graduate, just because I’m thrilled to move into my professional career. I’ve learned a lot about what kind of pharmacist I want to be. But it will be hard for me to not have these events.”

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For a closer look at Kaelyn’s NDSU experience, visit the official university YouTube channel.