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By Kala ThornsburyStudent Contributor

Chad Corum

Chad Corum

Chad Corum, from Manchester, Kentucky, has proven once again that ALC alumni can achieve anything that they set their minds to. He graduated from Clay County High School in 2005 and chose to attend Alice Lloyd College to study biology. He knew early on that he wanted to be a pharmacist saying, “I chose my job my junior year of high school and never really changed my mind after that.”

Chad reminisces fondly on his time spent at Alice Lloyd College, saying that he feels as if the College helped to teach him independence and leadership, something that many colleges don’t instill in their students. Chad held 3 different work-study positions during his time at ALC. He started working for the grounds crew, but after only two weeks of hard work was promoted to an English teacher’s assistant for Dr. Lafie Crum. He held this position for nearly two years before transferring to the biology department where he served as a chemistry tutor under the guidance of Dr. Paul Yeary.

Chad had much to say about Alice Lloyd College. “ALC is a place that is going to pull in determined students, those students that will impact their communities and make the world a better place after working for their education. They understand the value of their degrees because they have worked for it, not only academically, but through the work-study program, too. That is why I chose Alice Lloyd.”

Upon graduating from ALC in 2008, Chad attended the University of Kentucky as a Caney Scholar. He says, “I was able to save a lot of money. When you do the math the Caney Scholarship saved me well over $40,000.” Chad was very involved as a student at UK. He served as class president, participated in the student advisory council, was co-representative for the inter-professional program for UK, and volunteered as a board member for the honor committee for both the University of Kentucky as a whole and the College of Pharmacy. Chad graduated from UK in 2012 with his Doctorate in Pharmacy.

Chad says it was very important for him to return to his hometown of Manchester, Kentucky. “I never ‘get outside my raising’, so to say, and that’s why I wanted to come back.” He has owned his own pharmacy for nearly two years, but he serves as more than just a pharmacist: he is a self-taught entrepreneur. He keeps up with the latest changes in pharmacy, which means modifying his business model to best suit the economy and ever-changing health care system.

In addition, Chad is a well-known philanthropist, serving as co-chair for Practitioner Committee for KY Pharmacy, as an Advisory Counselor for the Board of Pharmacy, and as a Professional Development Co-Chair for the Kentucky Alliance Pharmacy.

He’s not stopping there. Chad says he hopes to open one more pharmacy sometime in the near future, but plans to keep it close to home. He said that customer service is his top priority, so he wants to manage both.

Chad even makes time in his busy schedule to speak to ALC students about the joys and obstacles of being a pharmacist and owning your own business in East Kentucky. Chad, like many other ALC graduates, knows the importance of giving back.