Scottsdale Community College Student Lauds University Transfer Success

~ SCC student transferred to Midwestern University – earned Doctor of Pharmacy degree  ~

Scottsdale, AZ (May 22, 2008) – Daniel Afonso was living in his native Brazil in 2001 when it came time to choose a college.

A friend lived in the Phoenix metro area, and although his English skills needed work, Afonso decided to move to Arizona.

“I was ready to go to college, and I thought, ‘Why not the United States?’” said Afonso, now 26. After a three-month intensive English program at Arizona State University, he enrolled at Scottsdale Community College. “I enrolled at SCC because it was very close to where I used to live. I used to walk to classes during the spring.”

He still wasn’t sure what he wanted to study, but he knew he wanted something in the medical field.  “I had taken a chemistry class at SCC and my teacher was really good, and I liked chemistry,” explained Afonso. “Several of his students had gone on to pharmacy school, so I took prerequisites for pharmacy at SCC for two-and-a-half years.”

Afonso researched one of the schools with a pharmacy program, Midwestern University, which is one of dozens of university transfer partners with the Maricopa Community Colleges. “I contacted Midwestern, asked them what classes I should be taking at SCC,” he said. “I built my schedule at Scottsdale Community College around what I needed at Midwestern.”

In the spring of 2004 he completed his studies at SCC, and started Midwestern’s three-year accelerated program in October of the same year. He graduated in June 2007 with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. “I went to school for three years with no breaks, no summer or spring, and finished everything in three years instead of four,” Afonso said.

Afonso, who has been working as a pharmacist at a valley Walgreen’s since October 2007, said he enjoys his new career. “I get to talk to a lot of different people, and you end up helping a lot of people who are not as fortunate.”

Because of his Brazilian citizenship, Afonso is in his last year on a work permit that allows him to live and work in the United States. New immigration requirements made his status uncertain: only 60,000 work visa applications are reviewed each year, and there is no guarantee that all 60,000 will be approved for a work visa. The process uses a lottery system to select applications for review.

“If I’m not awarded a work visa, I will have to either go back to school or move back to Brazil or another country,” he said. “I would prefer to stay in this country and work at my career here, but I should know soon if my application was selected.”

Afonso was recently informed that his visa application was accepted for review.

Afonso said he knows his career choice will always be in demand, no matter where he lives.

“The good thing about pharmacy is that I can have a job anywhere in the world as a teacher, a pharmacist, or working for a pharmaceutical company. There are many options,” he added. “If I do move to another country, I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding a job.”

Afonso lauded SCC for preparing him for the rigors of Midwestern’s pharmacy program.

“It gave me a great foundation in the biological and chemistry sciences,” he explained. “I had very good teachers, and since the classrooms were small I was always in contact with my teacher. I had the best teachers you could ever ask for, they had a passion about what they did, and you end up learning more in your subject because of that.”

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About Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale Community College offers over 1,500 academic and non-credit classes each semester. Located on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the campus is known for its serene atmosphere and beautiful plant and wildlife. With nearly 12,000 students, Scottsdale Community College is proud to offer high-quality, affordable programs in small class settings. From Motion Picture/Television Production and Culinary Arts to Nursing and American Indian Studies, students have a wide variety of programs from which to earn credits for university transfer, launch their careers, train for new ones, or pursue a special interest. The SCC Business Institute offers customized programs to meet the needs of local business. Scottsdale Community College is one of the ten Maricopa Community Colleges.

To learn about the many academic programs at Scottsdale Community College, call us at (480) 423-6000 or visit our website at www.scottsdalecc.edu.

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