Commitment to Community Drives Top Student at Long Island University’s
Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Mali C. Bobker named valedictorian for 329 graduates in class of 2008 -

Brooklyn, N.Y. – What does a student with a love of science and people choose as a career? For Mali C. Bobker, soon to graduate at the top of her class at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Long Island University, pharmacy offers the perfect answer.

“I enjoy science and interacting with patients,” explains Bobker, now completing an experiential rotation at a Walgreens in Manhattan. “The pharmacy is a community place where a patient can go to get advice.”

Bobker, 24, is well prepared to give that advice. Along with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, summa cum laude, she can expect to receive a silver medal from the College of Pharmacy, which has named her the valedictorian of her class of 2008. She earned a 3.93 grade point average in the difficult and competitive program that is required to become a pharmacist.

At 1 p.m. on Friday, May 16, Bobker will give the valedictory address before an audience of dignitaries, classmates, families and friends under a huge white tent on the athletic field of Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, located between Flatbush Avenue and Ashland Place near Willoughby Street in Downtown Brooklyn.

With her husband, David Minzer, a third-year medical student, Bobker lives in the same Flatbush section of Brooklyn where she was born and raised. She recalls enjoying her studies from an early age, graduating with honors from Prospect Park High School. While an undergraduate at New York University, she determined that she would make pharmacy her career and transferred to the College of Pharmacy at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.

“It’s my personality,” Bobker admits of her academic orientation and describes her entire family as similarly minded. Her only sibling, a younger brother, is studying abroad, and her parents, both college graduates, delight in her commitment to education. “I’ve always been very academic. I take my studies very seriously,” she says.

But, Bobker also finds time to help others. She has volunteered for the Big Sister/Little Sister program with Chai Lifeline, the international non-profit group, spending hours with youngsters who need support while someone in the family is seriously ill. "I was looking for something to do outside of school, and a way to give back to the community."

Of her top ranking as valedictorian of her class of 329, Bobker acknowledges, “I was kind of surprised,” but quickly adds, “I’m proud of myself. It’s really an accomplishment.”

Right after graduation, Bobker expects to work in retail pharmacy and then perhaps pursue a more clinically oriented practice, such as in a hospital. For the time being, however, behind the counter, assisting patients, is where she wants to be.

“Pharmacists are there to help people,” says Bobker. “We are an accessible resource for health information, not just about medication but for what benefits patients in general. We complete the circle of care.”

Posted: May 13, 2008

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