Abigail Pape: Leading with mind and heart

For South Dakota State University pharmacy student Abigail Pape, the path toward becoming a pharmacist has been shaped by equal parts curiosity, connection and the desire to make a meaningful difference.

Growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Pape always had a strong pull toward STEM fields but wasn’t certain what she wanted to study.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for the longest time, but I was always drawn to math, biology and chemistry,” she said. “What I find fulfillment in is the STEM areas, so I was originally thinking that I would pursue a more research-based career path.”

That love of STEM fields led her to explore a math double major, and conversations with a family friend who was a pharmacist encouraged her to think about what a career combining math and pharmacology research might look like.

“I thought I might explore pharmacokinetic modeling, and then I started taking some of the seminar courses in math, and I realized that's not for me,” she said. “I don’t want to sit at a desk or a computer all day.”

Pape realized something was missing; she wanted to connect with people. That realization helped her chart a new direction, a new path that brought her to pharmacy practice, where she found the perfect blend of mind and heart.

Pape embraced the Doctor of Pharmacy program eager to learn how to become a pharmacist, but her experience working with assistant professor and ambulatory care pharmacist Emily Van Klompenburg opened her eyes to how she could combine her career as a pharmacist and her interest in research.

Pape and Van Klompenburg met when Pape was a first-year student. “She was one of the faculty mentors of Kappa Psi,” Pape said. “At the time, I was also involved with Army ROTC, and she had graduated from the Army ROTC program, so we first connected about that.”

During the COVID‑19 pandemic, Van Klompenburg was tasked with reviewing medication regimens for patients prescribed Paxlovid, an antiviral with complex drug-drug interactions.

Knowing that Pape was interested in research, Van Klompenburg mentored her through a research project on the situation. Pape began digging into the cases, examining the safety of the real‑time decisions pharmacists were making about Paxlovid before formal guidance even existed.

The manuscript the two wrote on the project was recently accepted for publication.

“It has been my pleasure to work with Abigail on her research project. She is a self-motivated learner and will excel at anything she puts her mind to,” Van Klompenburg said. “She is destined to be a great pharmacist.”

With her research success, Pape’s heart remains firmly rooted in pharmacy, where she has worked first as a technician and then as an intern for over five years. She appreciates that SDSU’s pharmacy practice faculty provide a model for how she might combine her love of practice and her interest in research.

“So many of the pharmacy practice professors here have 50-50 positions. They have that patient interaction. They have that time in clinic, and they can offer those insights to students, which is super valuable,” Pape said. “But they also teach and do research, which shows that you can do all of it. You don’t have to be only one thing or the other.”

Pape has already signed up for the P3 research elective course.

Beyond her coursework and research, Pape has become a dedicated advocate for the future of pharmacy and a peer mentor.

She has served for three years as policy vice president for SDSU’s American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists chapter, staying up to date on national and state issues, partnering with the South Dakota Pharmacists Association, and helping her classmates understand how legislation impacts their careers and their communities. She is also active in Phi Lambda Sigma, the pharmacy leadership society, and Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity.

Outside of pharmacy, Pape finds joy in exploring new places, including a recent Fishback Honors College trip to Greece. Hiking through the countryside and visiting ancient sites was “amazing!” she said.

As Pape works toward completing her Pharm.D., she remains open‑minded about where her career might lead. But those who know her see the impact she’s already making.