By Luke Edwards, PC Leader

.  While she was growing up the pharmaceutical industry was quite literally a dinner time topic for Kylie Edwards.

And it was growing up with a father who owned a pharmacy, and the mealtime talks about his work, that helped pave the way for Kylie. Her dad, Donnie Edwards, owns the Boggio and Edwards Pharmacy in Ridgeway along with Larry Boggio, and it appears as though Kylie is following in her father’s footsteps.

“I kind of grew up in a pharmacy. At the dinner table dad would talk about his day,” she said.

In May Kylie finally received the acceptance letter to university she was waiting for. While most of her friends had long ago made their decisions on postsecondary education, Kylie was left in limbo. But it’s not for lack of opportunity.

Kylie will finish her high school career with an average north of 90 per cent. Taking university level courses in the maths and sciences she’s one of the top students at the school. In addition, she works with her dad at the pharmacy, plays piano, and can be seen on the court, in the field and on diamond playing a litany of sports. She was captain of the Port High basketball team, played ball hockey, baseball and also helps coach basketball.

She’s also deputy prime minister of the student council.

The reason it took so long for her to figure out where she’ll be come September is that her number one choice is not your typical undergraduate program.

Kylie was one of roughly 20 students across Canada that has been accepted into the Conditional Admission to Pharmacy (CAP) program at the University of Waterloo. More than 600 students applied to the program, which has an application process that includes the submission of an essay, references from teachers and employers, and a face-to-face interview process.

“I think my dad was more nervous than I was,” she said about the roughly half hour interview that took place with school officials.

Though the application process was rigorous, Donnie said the work for her daughter has just begun.

“There’s a lot of hard work ahead of her. But I think she’s going to really enjoy life at university,” Donnie said.

Being accepted into the CAP program means there is already a place reserved for Kylie in the Doctor of Pharmacy program. For most aspiring pharmacists they must complete at least two years of undergraduate study - many have full degrees - before applying for the doctorate program. As long as Kylie maintains a 75 per cent average, and remains committed to community involvement she’ll have a spot in the doctorate program.

“We’ll have to call her doctor,” Donnie said with a laugh.

When she completes her education Kylie said she hopes to open up a pharmacy in a small town, like Port Colborne or Ridgeway. She said pharmacists in small towns are able to create a closer relationship with their patients, which is really why she wants to get into the profession.

“I really like to help people,” she said.